First Imprint: Sam's Story
by IamKate
Summary: Sam Uley was just an average guy until one event changes him forever. Sam is suddenly thrust into a world he never knew existed. Now he must learn to embrace his new life...no matter who gets hurt. Sam's POV from New Moon through Breaking Dawn. CANON
1. Growth Spurt

_All characters, plot, and some wording are from the Twilight Saga belonging to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is rated T for strong language._

_First Imprint was a finalist in the 2009 "Indie Twific Awards" for Best Secondary Character._

First Imprint: Sam's Story

**Chapter 1 – Growth Spurt**

Sam's POV

"I don't understand what's going on with you anymore, Sam," Leah, my longtime girlfriend, said as she sat down next to me on my living room couch. "You feel like you're constantly running a temperature, you've been complaining that you don't feel well and that your body aches, and you've hit some freakish growth spurt in the past few months. Why are you being so stubborn about seeing a doctor?"

"Who would you like me to see? Dr. Cullen?" I sneered at the thought.

I didn't know why I was talking to her this way, but I always seemed on edge lately. Leah and I had been dating for almost four years, since she was a freshman and I was a junior in high school. She was everything I wanted in life. She was warm, caring, and she understood me, even with all my baggage.

My father abandoned me when I was a child. My mother tried to raise me as best she could, but due to having to work two jobs to put food on the table as my father never helped financially, she wasn't around much. As soon as I turned sixteen, I got a job and helped support my mom. She worked at the Tribal Office of Affairs on the Rez and helped me get employment there. It wasn't glamorous. I mostly was an errand boy, but I was able to finally start contributing. My mom quit her second job once I was able to pay for my own things.

I had been thinking about my father a lot lately for some reason. Every time I did, I would begin to shake. My father's abandonment should have made me a rebellious, angry youth. A part of me did feel angry. In fact, I seemed to get angrier about his absence in my life everyday, though I thought I put it behind me years ago.

"Please Sam, I know you place a lot of faith in the council and therefore you don't like Dr. Cullen." Leah sighed. "But he's the most reputable doctor in Forks. Your health is a lot more important than some stupid old story. I mean, come on, there's no such things as "cold ones." I'm really worried about you so will you please go see him."

"I'll be fine Lee-Lee, give it a rest," I replied, pulling her towards me to kiss her softly.

As soon as my lips touched hers, I felt some of my tension ease away. I loved this woman. Her sweet, nurturing spirit was the first thing that drew me to her. That and her expressive eyes. When I looked into her eyes, it was like I could see the world, and it was a place where only good things were possible.

Our four year anniversary was coming up. I had it all planned out. I was going to take her hiking in the mountains. It was one of our favorite past times. There was a certain place we liked to go. It was the perfect spot for setting the mood. On one of our hiking excursions, we had found a clearing that was perfect for camping and not too far from a waterfall. It was a few hours walk, but we never let that stop us before.

It was our place. We discovered it on our first date. It was the place where we made love for the first time shortly after her eighteenth birthday. It was the perfect setting for what I had in mind. It was where I was planning on proposing to her.

We were going off to college when school started in the fall. I had put off college for a couple of years to save some money. The scholarship I received only covered tuition, not living expenses. Leah would be graduating in a few months. I wanted us to have this commitment before we left for school.

"Don't forget, I want to go hiking next month for our anniversary," I told her, cupping her face in my large hands.

"Like I could forget, you've only been talking about it for the past two weeks," Leah smirked as she hugged me close. "Hey, my mom told me today that my cousin Emily's coming to town the week before our trip. We should probably take her out to eat or something before we disappear."

"Yeah, okay," I said, instantly distracted by the soft smile on her lips. I pulled her to me, tilting her head up for another kiss. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?"

"Enough to love me forever and ever?" She asked, the smile on her lips spreading even as I was kissing her.

"Hey, you read my mind," I responded before grabbing her hand and pulling her into the bedroom, closely the door softly behind us.


	2. Changes

**Chapter 2 – Changes**

Sam's POV

I grabbed my purchases off the shop's counter and headed for the door. I couldn't believe I had to buy more clothes. In less than a month I had to buy 10 pairs of pants because I kept growing. For the most part, I just wore sweats, but even those kept getting shorter and shorter until they were up to my knees. You would think that I would have stopped growing at age 20. Instead I went from 6'0 to 6'5 in only a few months.

Maybe Leah was right and I needed to see a doctor. I was hot all the time and my hands started to shake whenever I felt the slightest bit agitated. I didn't know what was going on. Worst of all was how my body ached. I felt like I was being stabbed by tiny pins all the time. And to top it all off, whenever I walked around the reservation, I kept getting weird looks from people, especially the Elders. Anytime I walked into a place where Billy Black or Harry Clearwater was, they stopped whatever they were doing and would just stare. I didn't even like going over to Leah's anymore. It was really beginning to make me paranoid and pissed off, which didn't help stop my shaking hands problem.

The paranoia was one of the reasons I jumped at the chance to get out of town and go to Seattle for the day. My mom needed some documents that were at another tribal office in the area so I volunteered to go get them. I decided that while I was there, I'd do some shopping since none of my clothes fit me anymore. As I headed towards my truck, I started thinking about the whispers and stares again and a wave of irritation shot down my spine making me feel like it was on fire. I quickly pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Leah's number.

"Hey," her voice came on the line.

"Hey yourself, how was school?"

"Boring as usual. I swear, if I have to sit at lunch and listen to Jacob Black talk about that girl Bella one more time, I'm going to throw up all over him. He hardly knows her but he won't shut-up about her. Oh, and you'll love this, did you know that she's dating a Cullen? Billy was over earlier talking about it with my father. Of course they're both freaking out," Leah said, chuckling.

"No kidding, I hope she's careful." Instead of this conversation calming me down as I had hoped, it was only agitating me further.

"Oh Sam, when are you going to stop listening to those stupid stories," Leah sighed. "When are you coming home?"

"I'm on my way right now. Maybe when I get back, we can go out to eat."

"Ok, I'll see you when you get back. I love you." Leah said.

"Love you more, bye." I disconnected the call and opened up my truck door.

It was then that I saw him. Across the street was my father. I hadn't seen him in years but I would have recognized him anywhere. Fury like nothing I had ever felt before shot through my body. My father looked well fed, his stomach bulging out from his body, and he seemed like a man who was perfectly content with his lot in life. He had his arm around a woman who looked younger than me.

I wanted to go across the street and rip his throat out. I was shaking so badly that when I looked at my hands they seemed blurry to me. The fever I always had lately, worsened, and the heat shot through my whole body until I felt like I was going to suffocate from it. The pins and needles sensation that had plagued my skin for weeks went from irritating to feeling like I was being stabbed by a thousand knives. Instead of killing my father like I wanted to, I jumped in my car and screeched out of the parking lot as fast as I could. I raced all the way back to La Push, shaking so hard that I could barely hold onto the wheel.

As soon as I got home, I jumped out of my car and just stood outside, looking at my mother's worn down house. Everything about my mom looked worn down. She was so thin that half the time it looked like a strong wind could break her. She had the look of being permanently exhausted and it seemed like she carried the weight of the world on her slim shoulders most of the time. Compared to her, my father looked like the fat cat who swallowed the canary. Unlike my mother, he had looked like he didn't have a care in the world.

The fury I felt raged through me again. I knew that I was going to be violently sick and instead of heading towards the house, I ran to the forest. The hot pain shot through my spine again and I felt like I was going to be incinerated from the heat that was coursing through me. I didn't know what was happening but I knew one thing for sure. I was going to die. I couldn't imagine any other reason for the pain.

That's when it happened. My clothes felt too tight on me. They fell away like shredded paper. My skin ripped away from my body and I felt like I had exploded. Only a second later, whatever was left of my body seemed to fuse back together and I felt taller than I had ever felt before. My lips curled back from my teeth and I tried to scream, but instead of a scream I heard a howl. It was a sound that I had only ever heard wolves make before. I looked down at my hands, but instead of hands, I saw black paws. What the hell was going on? Was I going insane?

I quickly ran in the direction of the place that Leah and I always hiked to. It should have taken me hours, but I was there in a few minutes. I headed toward the river that gathered beneath the waterfall and looked at my reflection. Instead of seeing my face, I saw the black face of a wolf with long mangy hair. Again I screamed, jumping back from the reflection in the water, and again I heard the frantic howl of the wolf.

I didn't know what to do so I ran. I ran as far away from La Push as I could go. If I was insane and this was a terrible hallucination I didn't want Leah to see me. If this for some freakish reason was actually happening and I was a wolf, I didn't want _anyone_ to see me. What was I going to do?

The sun began to set as I continued to run. I kept running even when I saw a sign that said "Welcome to Alaska." I went as far north as I could get. I knew that days were flying by, but I couldn't sleep and I didn't stop running. I was terrified of what might happen if I did sleep. As a week went by, the hunger I felt became more painful than the delusion. I started making my way back south when I picked up the scent of deer. I could smell everything in the forest, but this scent made my stomach growl hungrily. I followed the smell and came across a herd. Without thinking, I lunged at one of the startled animals and bit the neck, snapping it in half. I quickly ate, without trying to think of what I had just done.

I slowly started making my way back to La Push. If I was insane and this was all in my head, I would get help. I had to because I needed to see my family; my mother and Leah. I even longed to see Seth, Leah's younger brother, who was always nagging us and wanting to tag along where ever we went.

When I got closer to reservation, I picked up the smell of dozens of humans. It wasn't a fresh scent. It smelt like humans had been in the area but were no longer there. It was then that I heard several voices, two of the voices so familiar to me that they made my heart ache.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but we're going to have to call off the search. It's been two weeks and we haven't been able to find a trace of your son."

"But the tracks…we found those weird tracks right near his footprints and clothes. If a wolf or bear got my son, surely we would have found some other evidence." I could hear my mother's frantic voice, even though I knew I was miles away from where she was.

"Please, you can't call off the search." Leah's teary voice pleaded, her terror reaching out to me.

"I'm sorry, but after two weeks, it's standard that we call off a recovery mission." The man said. "Ma'am, I'm going to need you to come with me to fill out some paperwork."

I heard two people leave the area and then I heard sobbing.

"Sam, please come back to me," Leah cried. "Please find a way home."

As I heard her leave the forest, I felt a calmness rush over me that I hadn't felt in two weeks. I was filled with a longing that soothed away the terror and anger that I had felt for so long. I wanted to go home. I wanted to hold Leah. Slowly, I felt the heat leave my spine. I seemed to shrink a little and when I looked down I saw my hands, my human fleshy hands, before my eyes. I walked home on wobbly legs. The area was deserted except for my truck and my mother's car, which was probably a good thing considering I didn't have a stitch of clothing on. I went to the door and tried to open it but it was locked. My mother never locked the door. She must have been truly terrified and sorrow hit me like a freight train.

I knocked weakly on the door and could hear her moving through the house. My hearing was unreal. I could hear everything. I could hear a radio on the other side of the reservation blaring music. I could hear birds chirping in the trees so clearly that it was like they were sitting on my shoulder. My mother opened the door slowly and then stared at me like I was a ghost. I knew her pale grief-ridden face would haunt me for the rest of my life.

"Sam," she whispered.

"Mom," I replied, before collapsing in her arms.

_**A/N – Please Review**_


	3. Unexplainable

**Chapter 3 – Unexplainable**

Sam's POV

I slowly opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling in my bedroom. I felt stiffness in my limbs, but I couldn't tell if it was because I had been sleeping for awhile or from what had happened. It seemed like a bad dream. Maybe it was. How could I possible have been a wolf?

"Sam?" I looked over and saw my mother sitting in the chair that was in the corner of my room. "How are you feeling, honey?"

"I feel like I could sleep for another 8 hours."

"You've been asleep for two days now. I've been debating with myself as to whether I should take you to the hospital or not."

"No," I practically shouted. My hands started to shake again and I took a deep breath and felt myself calm, the shaking reduced to a slight tremor. In a softer voice I said, "No hospital please, I just want to rest."

"Oh honey, what happened? You're so thin you look like a skeleton and there's something else…I don't know, you look different somehow," my mother exclaimed.

"I look different? How so?" I asked, hoping she wouldn't hear the fear in my voice.

"Well, aside from the fact that you look like you've run your hair through a mud bath and it's now a clumpy mess of sticks and leaves…I don't know, you just look older. Your face has changed. Please tell me what happened."

I sighed, trying to think of the best way to explain this.

"While I was in Seattle, I saw dad." Again my hands started to shake and I had to take another deep breath. "When I got back, I went for a walk in the woods. I didn't realize how far I had gone and I got lost."

My mother looked at me like she didn't believe a word I said. She opened her mouth to say something, but I interrupted.

"Please mom, I'm really tired, can I just go back to sleep?"

"Sure honey, but you might want to call Leah first. She's been frantic, calling every hour."

"I will, but I just need to sleep right now." I said before closing my eyes.

"Ok." I heard her get up and felt her kiss my forehead, before the door closed quietly behind her.

I tried to fall back asleep, but my stomach was reminding me that I hadn't eaten in days. After listening to my stomach growl for 10 minutes, I finally got up and made my way towards the bathroom. I was shocked by what I saw in the bathroom mirror.

My mother was right. I looked closer to 30 then I did my age of 20. My cheeks were hallowed out from lack of food over the past two weeks. My long hair, which I normally kept in a ponytail was so matted and such a hopeless mess that I knew I wouldn't be able to save it. I left the bathroom to get scissors out of the kitchen, startling my mother who was making lunch.

"Mom, can you make me something while you're at it?" I asked before returning to the bathroom. I cut my long hair all the way to the scalp and when I was done, I took out my electric razor and shaved the rest of my head giving myself a buzz cut. I left the bathroom and headed back to the kitchen. My mother put a plate on the table with a sandwich on it and looked at me. She gasped in shock.

"What did you do to your hair?"

"You were right, it was a mess. I figured it would be better to get rid of it then to try and fix it."

My mother just stood at the table watching me with her mouth hanging open while I wolfed down the sandwich in seconds. Even after I ate the whole thing, my stomach still growled.

"Do you want some more?" My mother asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, but I can make it."

"You sit and relax, I'll make the sandwich."

"Well…uh…could you make three sandwiches please, and can I have some of that pie?" My stomach wanted more food.

My mom quickly made the sandwiches and placed a fork next to me. She carried the freshly made pie over to the table and began cutting slices into the flakey crust. I ate the three sandwiches she made in a matter of minutes. While I was reaching for the pie, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it. Boy, you must have really been hungry after what you went through," my mother said, heading toward the door.

I quickly reached for the pie and before I knew it, the pie pan was empty. I ate the entire pie faster than I had eaten the sandwiches.

"Leah," I heard my mother say, "Come on in."

Crap. As much as I wanted to see her, I didn't know what I would say to Leah. I knew she wouldn't just accept my word as easily as my mother did.

"Is he awake?" Leah asked softly.

"Yeah, he's in the kitchen eating."

"Did he say anything yet?"

"Only that he saw his father in Seattle and when he got back he went for a walk in the woods and got lost." My mother whispered.

"Sam got lost in the woods? Sam knows this area better than anyone."

"Well, that's what he said, and I didn't want to push him. He's so tired that when I tried to get more out of him he started shaking."

They moved to the kitchen. Leah walked in after my mother and stopped dead as soon as she saw me. My mother walked over to the table and grabbed my empty plate, shaking her head at the empty pie pan.

"You couldn't even save me a piece?" My mother asked as she carried the plates over to the sink.

"Sorry Mom." Awkward silence filled the kitchen. Leah hadn't moved from the kitchen entryway. She was frozen to her spot, her eyes wide as she stared.

"Well, now that your up and moving around, I'm going to head over to the office," My mom said, coming over to kiss my forehead, her eyes moving sadly to my shaved head. "No forest today please, I don't think my nerves could take it."

"Sure, no problems Ma," I said. She smiled at my _Ma_ and left the kitchen. I heard her head out the hallway and go out the front door. I looked at Leah and then back down to my hands. Ahh…I knew I'd never take my hands for granted again. I felt a chill as I remembered the furry black paws.

"So…" I said, not knowing what to say. It didn't matter because my speaking seemed to shock Leah out of her stupor.

"So! So! Is that all you can say? What the hell happened to you? Do you have any idea how frantic we were? You disappear off the face of the planet and all we found were animal prints near what was left of your clothes. We thought something had killed you. We had forest rangers looking for your dead body. Search parties were combing the woods for you for days."

"I'm sorry," I said getting up from my chair. I walked over to her and tried to hug her like I had been yearning to do for two weeks but she pushed me away.

"What happened to you?" She demanded to know.

"I went for a walk in the woods. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and before I knew it, I was in a place that I wasn't familiar with. I didn't find my way back until a few days ago."

"Ok, so how do you explain how your clothes ended up in a shredded mess near the edge of the forest? Why do you look like you've been to hell and back? Seriously Sam, you look like your 10 years older than you are and why, _WHY_ did you cut your hair?"

"I was lost in the woods for two weeks, how do you think I should look? As for my hair, by the time I found my way back it was beyond fixing so I chopped it. The clothes…I don't know, maybe they were from some laundry I had left out to air dry and some squirrel got a hold of it."

I smiled slightly at the idea of some crazy squirrel going berserk and chewing my clothes to bits. For a story that was spur of the moment, I actually thought it was pretty good. Leah, however, was looking at me like I'd grown two heads.

"You don't expect me to believe that, do you?"

"Well you're going to have to," I snapped. I could feel the heat starting to slice down my spine again and my hands were beginning to shake. I left the kitchen and hurried towards my room. I got my new clothes out of the shopping bag my mom must have brought in from my truck.

"Sam, I'm trying to understand what's going on with you." Leah said, following me into my room.

"Look, I told you what happened and that's it. I'm done explaining this to you." I looked at her for a moment, the heat in my spine getting worse. If I didn't get out of this situation right now, I was going to explode in front of the one person I couldn't bare to know the truth. "To hell with this, I'm going to work."

"Now?" Leah asked, her face filled with disbelief and hurt.

"Yes, now," I replied, moving past her into the hall and slamming out the front door, leaving her in my house.

I headed towards the Tribal Office of Affairs building, trying to calm myself as I walked quicker than what was probably normal. I walked by a couple of guys in Leah's graduating class, Paul and Jared, who were standing outside of _Clearwater's Supply Store._ They pointed at me snickering, and started to make comments to each other about my disappearance and how it was probably drug related. I wanted to turn around and beat them to a pulp. I had a feeling that if I took them both on, I'd be the one left standing.

The trembling in my hands got worse, and I felt the heat begin to race all over my body again. I picked up my pace to get away from Paul and Jared and practically ran to the office. I took several deep breathes outside of the building. I felt the cool breeze of the wind on my face, and it calmed me enough where I could enter the building without fear that I was going to explode. I opened the door and walked in.

My mother was at the greeter's desk standing next to old Quil Ateara. Quil Sr. had lived on the reservation for years before very recently moving to a retirement home in Port Angeles. He still came back every few weeks to visit his family. His eyes almost bulged out of his head when he saw me.

"Sam, what are you doing here?" My mother asked.

"I wanted to get back to work and yes I'm sure," I said as my mother was about to interrupt, "I need to get back to some normalcy."

I needed it more than she could possibly know. Old Quil was still staring at me and didn't seem to be able to move. Jeez, first Leah and now this. This day was getting better and better.

"You remember my son Sam," my mother said to Quil.

He seemed to jump before he moved slowly towards me, raising his hand to shake mine. I grabbed his hand and shook it. He immediately dropped it like it had burned him, which it probably had. I could feel the heat blazing through my skin.

"Uh, nice to see you again Sam. Dorothy, always a pleasure." Old Quil rushed out of the building faster than I would have thought possible for a man his age.

I sighed and went to work, gathering paperwork together, and updating the tribal website. The time flew by as I kept myself as busy as possible. The busier I was, the less time I had to think. Finally, at 5 o'clock, my mother came to my work area.

"Sam, why don't you head home now. I'll lock up. When I get home, why don't we order a couple of pizzas?"

My stomach growled at the idea. I knew I'd be able to eat a couple of large pizzas on my own.

"Sure mom, I'll go ahead and order the food." I said as I headed out the door. I wasn't a few feet from the door when I heard someone call my name. I turned and saw Billy Black, Quil Ateara Sr, and Harry Clearwater sitting on the bench that was right outside the office door. They were obviously waiting for me. Billy rolled his wheelchair over to me.

"We need to talk."

_**A/N – Please Review!**_


	4. The Truth

**Chapter 4 – The Truth**

Sam's POV

Harry walked over to the office door and pulled it open, shouting, "Dorothy, we're going to borrow Sam for a little while."

"Ok, tell him I'll order the pizzas" I heard my mom reply.

We slowly started walking towards the cliffs that weren't too far from the Tribal office. A lot of kids on the Rez came to this area to cliff dive, but today the area was deserted. We walked over to the bonfire area and I sat down on a log there, leaning my arms on my knees and clasping my hands together.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked, feeling nervous. What could the Elders possibly have to say to me?

"Sam," Billy started, "We've all noticed a change in you over the past few months. The growth spurt, the changes in your face, the tremors we sometimes see in your hands. Plus, Quil here says you nearly burned his hand off when he shook yours earlier."

I didn't say anything, just sat and waited. But my stomach was starting to twist into knots. Did they possibly know what was going on with me?

"What do you know of the legend of Kaheleha?" Old Quil asked.

I stared at them in confusion. Why were they bringing this up?

"He was supposed to be the first spirit chief of our tribe. He and his warriors attacked their enemies with their spirits instead of their bodies." I recited.

"Good," Quil Sr. said. "And after several generations passed, the great chief Taha Aki came to power and became the first in our tribe to use his spirit to possess a wolf. Before his tribe's eyes, he transformed from wolf to man, and in his new body he had incredible strength and speed and he didn't age. He had many sons who also inherited this gift. Each son looked different in their wolf form as the wolf was a reflection of the man inside."

I sat very still as what they were saying began to sink in. I couldn't believe it though. The stories were just legends. Fairytales to tell the tribe's children at bedtime.

"You also know the story of the Cold Ones?" Billy asked. I slowly nodded my head. "Magic runs strong in the descendents of Taka Aki. After a while his descendents stopped turning into wolves, but they still carried the magic in their blood. Once in a great while, if a Cold One came to the area, a couple of descendents would change into wolves to protect the tribe."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, my hands beginning to shake. I knew what they were telling me, but I didn't want to hear it.

"Sam, 70 years ago a large coven came to the area," Old Quil explained. "My father and Billy and Harry's grandfathers were the last to change into werewolves. They were the protectors of the tribe. All of us witnessed their phasing. We know the signs. The feverous feeling skin; the uncontrollable shaking. What happened to you a couple of weeks ago?"

"I…I…" I couldn't continue. My throat felt too tight. Heat was beginning to blaze down my spine; my hands began to shake harder.

"Sam, take a deep breath or you'll phase again. Every time you lose your temper, you could change." Harry spoke for the first time. I did as he instructed and felt slightly calmer.

"The coven that moved to the area 70 years ago was the Cullen family, if you can even call them that." Billy spoke once I calmed down a little bit. "They assured our grandfathers that they wouldn't harm the tribe and agreed to stay off our lands. They also promised to not feed on a human or change a human into one of them. When they moved, our family members stopped phasing and aged and lived out their lives in peace.

When the Cullens moved back to the area a couple of years ago, their leader, the doctor, called me as I was the direct descendent of Ephraim Black and assured me that they still planned to honor the treaty. But their return has obviously triggered the magic that runs in your veins."

"Are you saying that I'm a freak because those stupid bloodsuckers moved back in the area!" I yelled, jumping up off of the log. I started to blur from shaking so hard. I saw all three Elders take a step back, and I bent over to grab my knees and hang my head trying to calm myself.

"You're not a freak Sam," Billy said. "I wish I could have what you have. You're the protector of our tribe. It's a great honor. You can stop anyone from being hurt on this reservation. We'll follow your lead Sam on how you want to handle the leeches.

"How long am I going to be like this?"

"Well, it's something that you'll have in you for the rest of your life," Old Quil answered,

"But once you get more control of your emotions and stop phasing, you'll be able to age and move on with your life."

I turned away from them and walked to the edge of the cliff, staring out at the churning water below. I had really hoped I was going insane, but now I was being told that everything I thought to be a hallucination was actually real. Every time I lost my temper, I was going to turn into some great hairy beast.

"Sam…" Billy implored. I turned and looked at him.

"You're not the only one affected by this. With the size of the Cullen coven, we're expecting more of the boys to change. The coven is bigger than the last time they were in the area. We've been watching some of the boys on the rez. We're pretty sure that Jared and Paul are pretty close to changing. My son and his friend Embry Call are showing signs too. Just the other day, Jake and I went over to visit Charlie and Bella Swan. Jake complained about the terrible perfume Bella was wearing. I didn't smell anything, but I do know that Bella is somehow involved with one of the Cullens. His sense of smell is already changing. When these boys change, they are going to terrified. You'll be able to help them along. You'll be in charge until Jacob is ready."

"In charge?" I asked, not quite understanding what he was talking about.

"Every wolf pack has an Alpha male…a leader," Billy answered. "The boys will need to rely on you. Once Jacob's ready, he'll be the Alpha as he is a direct descendant of Ephraim Black, the tribe's last true chief."

I turned back towards the water and felt my shoulders slump. "How am I going to tell Leah?"

"You can't tell her," Harry answered. "You can't tell anyone unless you find your imprint. Secrecy is a necessity."

"What's an imprint?" I asked dully, not really comprehending what was being said.

"An imprint is the wolves' way of finding their true mate who will help them continue to carry on the line. According to legend it rarely happens though, so as I said, you need to keep this information to yourself until your brothers' change." Harry explained.

I was barely listening anymore. The Elders asked if I had any more questions. I couldn't even think for the moment, so I shook my head. They assured me that they'd be there for me if I had any questions. I nodded to them wearily and headed for home.

"Sam?" My mother called out.

"Yeah, it's me."

"Pizza will be here any minute."

"Okay," I replied before going into my room and closely the door softly behind me. I sat on my bed and put my head in my hands.

_**A/N – Please Review!**_


	5. Emily

**Chapter 5 – Emily**

Sam's POV

I walked grudgingly towards the Clearwater house. Fatigue overwhelmed me. I didn't really want another night of angry stares from Leah.

In the past three months since I was told the truth, I felt like my entire life had changed. I dropped all plans of going to college. I couldn't very well leave the reservation unprotected when we had a coven of vampires right down the road. I was currently blowing the money I had saved up to rent my own house. It was tiny, only slightly bigger than a shack. It probably was at one time a nice grey color, but now it looked dull and faded. Next to the blue front door that badly needed a paint job, was a narrow window. Underneath the window was an empty window box that hung crookedly in its place.

One of the only good things about the house was that it was somewhat secluded and near the woods. The other good thing was that it got me out from under my mother's watchful eye. Disappearing all night and barely sleeping all day would attract too much notice from her. As it was, I could barely stay awake long enough to go to work.

It felt like I had been patrolling the borders nonstop for the past three months and I was exhausted. However, the Clearwater's were having a celebratory dinner for Leah's high school graduation and as tired as I was, I knew I couldn't cancel. I had already postponed our anniversary hike, because I didn't feel comfortable leaving the borders unprotected even for a day.

The cancelled trip was something else that Leah and I fought over, but I couldn't tell her the true reason I had to break our plans. The pressure of not telling Leah anything was getting to me. I had decided to put off proposing until I could get myself under control. I was terrified of turning into a monster right before her eyes.

She was furious half the time with me anymore and I could understand it. Leah knew I was hiding something. She didn't know where I disappeared to at night or why I was so tired. She also didn't know that after I finished patrolling the borders, I ran by her house every night just to make sure everything was okay. Even though I couldn't go to her as I checked on her house in wolf form, I felt better whenever I past the silent home knowing that Leah was there safe in her bed.

As sad as it made me feel, a tiny part of me was waiting anxiously for Jared to phase as I knew he'd be next to change. I didn't want it to happen, but as there was no way to stop it, I felt slight relief knowing I'd finally be able to get some help.

I could see it in his face. There were subtle changes happening. He was beginning to lose his boyish look quickly. His features were beginning too mature. He had been rapidly growing over the past few months and had probably grown several feet recently. And when he caught me staring at him the other day, his hands began to shake badly.

I sighed as I knocked on the door. I was already looking forward to this evening being over so that I could go home for a few hours and get some sleep before I had to patrol again. Leah opened the door, smiling as soon as she saw me. She was wearing a blue party dress that flowed down to her knees. She looked beautiful and I told her so.

"Thanks," she responded before leaning in to kiss me. She grabbed my hand and pulled me into the room. "I want to introduce you to my cousin. She just got here about an hour ago."

"Emily, this is my boyfriend Sam. Sam, Emily." Leah said pulling me into the living room.

I looked over and saw Harry sitting on the couch. Next to him was Emily. I looked up at Emily's face and suddenly the world shifted out of focus and the only thing I could see was her. I felt like an invisible chain was suddenly sprouting out from her and attaching itself to me firmly, and that link was the only thing keeping me on Earth. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Her skin was an incredible shade of copper. Her long crow black hair shimmered in the light. I felt a heat, not painful like the heat I felt when I phased, but a different heat spread through my body, warming my heart and mind. My reaction didn't make sense to me, but I knew that in that moment my life would never be the same again. I knew I wasn't going to be able to exist in this world if Emily didn't exist in mine.

"It's nice to see you again Sam," Emily said, her voice sending waves of longing through me.

"Again?" Leah questioned in confusion.

"We met once before when you brought him to a family reunion a couple of years ago." Emily replied.

"Oh, I don't remember that," Leah responded in a tone that said it didn't really matter.

I didn't remember either. How could I not remember meeting Emily before? Overwhelming need made me want to go to Emily and hold her close and never let go. I couldn't look away from her.

"Sam?"

I blinked in confusion and stared in the direction of the sound. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew it was Leah who said my name, but when I looked in her direction I could no longer see her. She was out of focus, her voice sounding muffled to my sensitive ears. I frowned at her and then returned to staring at Emily. The silence was becoming awkward, but I didn't care. I couldn't seem to gain my bearings. How could I? I didn't think I'd be able to move anywhere unless Emily moved too.

"Uh…I think, I'm going to see if Aunt Sue needs help with dinner." Emily said uncomfortably.

She got up from the couch and moved quickly towards the kitchen, giving me one last look before she left. I felt myself unconsciously begin to follow her. I couldn't let her leave me. Suddenly, I felt a firm hand on my arm. I was about to shake off the hand to follow the pull that was getting harder to resist when I realized that it was Harry. He was all but shoving me out the front door.

"Why don't you and I get some fresh air." Harry said. "Leah, go distract Seth before he sneaks any more food out of the kitchen. If your mother sees him eating again before dinner, she's going to go ballistic."

Harry and I walked away from the house and started walking along the forest.

"Okay, let's have it. What happened in there?" Harry asked. I was expecting him to go off on me. I just embarrassed his daughter by making a fool of myself over his niece, but he just looked at me with sad eyes.

"I don't know what happened." I answered truthfully. I still felt like I was in a daze, and I longed to be back in the house…back near Emily. "When I saw Emily, it's like everything started spinning out of control and the only thing that was keeping me grounded was her."

Harry sighed wearily. "It sounds like you imprinted."

"Imprinted, I thought that rarely happened?"

"It's something incredibly rare, that's why we mentioned it in passing. There have only been a few cases of imprinting before. Legend goes that when the werewolf finds their mate, their whole world shifts and their imprint is the only thing that holds the wolf together. The bond is so strong that if anything were to happen to the werewolf's mate, it would bring him unbearable pain." Harry explained, his shoulders slumping. The thought of anything happening to Emily made my hands shake. Harry didn't notice.

"Well, I guess this means you and Emily are meant to be together. You won't be able to concentrate and protect the tribe until you get that situation taken care of."

"But…what about Leah?" I asked, my heart breaking because I already knew the answer. The thought of her made my hands stop trembling. I loved Leah, but in the moment I saw Emily, I knew that I was no longer in love with her. Even now as I tried to bring up Leah's features in my mind, I couldn't see her. I sighed. I was going to have to end things with her and it was tearing me up inside. She didn't deserve this.

"I can see by the look on your face that you already know that answer." Harry responded sadly. I looked closer at his face. He had a strange pallor to his skin and he looked exhausted.

"Harry," I said after a moment, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, just tired. It's been a long past few months," Harry replied, smiling weakly. "Do you think you can pull yourself together long enough to get through dinner?"

I said I would and we headed back to the house. Leah, I could sense was stewing. As hard as I tried to focus on her face, she always seemed slightly blurry to me. Dinner was uncomfortable to say the least, and if it hadn't been for Harry and Seth's jabbering, dinner would have been eaten in complete silence.

Leah was furious. Sue, Leah's mother, kept glancing between her angry daughter and me. Emily kept shifting in chair, obviously uneasy by my constant staring and the tension radiating out of her cousin. Try as I might, I couldn't seem to keep my eyes off of Emily. The room seemed slightly darker and yet she seemed to be shrouded in light. After dinner, I broke out of my reverence of Emily and asked Leah to go for a walk. We took off down to the beach.

"Well, thanks for coming over tonight, I really appreciate how you ignored me and embarrassed yourself over my cousin." Leah said bitterly.

I looked at her with overwhelming sadness. I did this to her. A few months ago she was full of life, always laughing. Now it looked like a smile would shatter her face.

"Leah…" I started to say, but couldn't continue. She stared at me and then her face suddenly came into focus again as comprehension crept across her features. It was the first time that I could see her clearly since I imprinted on Emily.

"So that's it? It's over?" She whispered in a pain-filled tone.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry."

"Why…why are you doing this? Is it because of Emily?"

I couldn't answer her, but she read the guilt on my face.

"But you…" Her voice cracked as she held back the tears and when she spoke again her voice was an octave higher and barely above a whisper. "But you don't even know her."

"I'm sorry," I repeated roughly, my throat hurting so bad that I could hardly speak.

She put her hands to her face and began to cry, each sob tearing at my heart. Without thinking, I tried to hug her, but she began to punch my chest with surprising force.

"You bastard, you promised you'd love me forever, you promised!" She kept hitting me and I kept repeating that I was sorry. She finally collapsed against me, her sobs racking her body.

"Please Leah, I'm so sorry, I didn't want to hurt you."

She pulled away when I said that and gave me a look of incredible loathing.

"Bastard," she shouted again and punched me with enough force that I stumbled back. I watched her run back to her house as I began to rub my face. Considering I was a werewolf, Leah packed quite a punch.

Even after all that went on today, even knowing that I had just broken Leah's heart, I still wanted to go back to Emily. It caused me pain when instead of returning to Emily, I walked slowly towards my truck and headed home. As I drove, I saw Jared and Paul headed towards the beach with a group of other kids. They were probably going have a bonfire later. I saw Jacob Black with his friends Embry Call and Quil Ateara as they walked by the supply store. Embry was starting to really shoot up and from what Billy Black told me, Jacob was most likely on his way to becoming a monster like I was.

I pulled into my driveway and headed towards my backyard. Anger began to fill me and I quickly stripped out of my clothes and ran towards the forest. Leah's heart was broken and innocent kids were about to become freaks and have their lives ruined, and it was all because of the bloodsucking Cullens. Just their very name sent me into a rage, and I exploded into my wolf form and headed towards the treaty border to begin my nightly patrol.

_**A/N – Please Review!**_


	6. Wooing

**Chapter 6 – Wooing**

Sam's POV

"How long do I have before Emily returns to Makah?" I asked Harry. Harry came to the office today so that he and I could discuss "tribal business." My mom, who was in the office at the time, didn't understand why the Elders kept seeking me out. Billy had explained to her a few months ago that I was involved in some confidential "tribal business." Although I knew she was curious, no one ever questioned the Elders. I decided to take an early lunch break and we headed for the cliffs. After only getting an hour of sleep the night before, I was ready to pass out and needed the fresh air anyway.

"Didn't Leah tell you? Emily's staying for the summer. Her parents want her to go to college in the fall, but Emily's undecided. She's going to help out in the store. I think her parents thought that a few months of retail would scare her into wanting to go to school."

Happiness shot through me. I had the entire summer to try to persuade Emily that we were meant to be together. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, and I couldn't very well blurt out that she was my imprint without her thinking I was insane. One major problem I had was that she and Leah were like sisters and Leah was wasting no time in making me out to be the bad guy. In the week since we broke up, any time I passed the Clearwater house, I could hear her tell Emily every dirty secret and fault I had.

I tried to remind myself that Leah was hurt and angry. I was hurt and angry too. The anger I felt was directed mostly at the leeches. If it hadn't been for the bloodsuckers, I would never have had to hurt Leah. But I couldn't regret falling in love with Emily and that's where the hurt came in. I knew that Leah was in pain, but I still couldn't stop thinking about Emily. And that made me feel so guilty that it filled me with self-loathing. I was ashamed that I couldn't be in more pain over the fact that I had hurt Leah who I had loved for years, not to mention she was my best friend for so long. Even after being as close as we were, I couldn't even picture Leah's face in my mind anymore.

Oddly enough, it seemed like I couldn't see any woman clearly anymore unless they were in extreme pain. A girl came to the reservation the other day to see a woman she knew who lived there. She was sitting on the front porch talking to the friend with her arms tightly around her stomach when I walked by. When I looked at her face, I could see it clear as glass. The whole left side of her face was black and blue and I actually saw knuckle imprints on her skin. Her friend kept telling the girl that her boyfriend was a pig and wasn't worth it.

I was able to track down the pig boyfriend in Port Angeles and had a little chat with him. I convinced him to take anger management courses, and I was pretty sure when the cast comes off his arm in 6 months, he won't touch any woman in anger again. Sometimes there were a lot of benefits to being a protector.

I sighed as I thought about Emily again. Between work, patrolling, and sleeping, my chances of seeing Emily always seemed slim. I felt physical pain from not being able to go near her. I was trying to be respectful of Leah, but I didn't know how much longer I could go without talking to Emily. I had begun to go by the Clearwater house everyday after work just to see if I could see her. I found that she and Leah liked to take walks on the beach around sunset, so I began to hide in the cliffs, always watching from a distance. I felt like a stalker, but I couldn't help myself. Even though I could hear Leah trashing me, seeing Emily even from far away actually helped ease a tiny bit of the pain I felt from not being near her.

"I convinced Leah to go to California and stay with my wife's sister for a few weeks." Harry said, interrupting my obsessive thoughts of his niece. "She's been fighting it because I think she has an idea in her head that you'll come back to her, but I told her 'some time apart might be just what your relationship needs.'"

Harry sighed, before continuing in self-disgust. "God, I hate lying to my daughter. I don't know if she'll ever forgive me if she finds out that I was helping you. But staying here, with her hoping you two will get back together, will only hurt her worse given how impossible the situation is. And I don't want her to have to see you wooing her cousin."

"Woo...who says woo anymore Harry?" I laughed sadly.

"What can I say, I'm an old fashion guy. Like I told you before, you're not going to be able to function right until you get things settled with Emily and we need your head on straight. I'm not going to lie to you though, you have a battle on your hands. Emily loves Leah and she is very loyal to her. Leah leaves tonight. Why don't you stop by the store tomorrow?"

Harry and I nodded to each other and he left. I looked at the water and put my hands in my pockets as I began to plan my strategy.

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As I opened the door to the store, I quickly glanced around and saw Emily behind the counter. I took a deep breath and among the many scents I could smell I caught the faint scent of her perfume. Ahh…honeysuckle. She looked up at the sound of my entrance with a smile on her face that slowly faded when she saw it was me. I sighed, Harry was right. This was going to be hard.

"Can I help you?" Emily asked, her body stiff.

"I'm just here to get something for my lunch," I nodded to her casually and walked over to the freezer that held the microwavable dinners and snacks.

I started blankly at the selection. So far, so good. I spent half of my patrol last night creating my plan to "woo" her. First thing was to take it slow. Second, pretend that she wasn't the very essence of my existence…didn't want to scare her. Third, damage control. I was sure that after Leah's campaign to make sure Emily thought I was a pile of horse crap, I was going to need to find a way to make Emily see that I wasn't the creep she probably thought I was. Cool, calm, and collected, that was my motto.

I grabbed something out of the freezer not even knowing what it was and headed back to the counter where Emily was working. She grabbed it not meeting my eyes, disapproval come off her in waves. She went to ring up my purchase and then stopped and finally looked up to meet my eyes for the first time since I walked in the store. Her eyes were filled with disbelief; I frowned in response.

"This is what you're having for lunch?" she asked, holding the box of food in front of her.

I looked at what she was waving and instantly felt my face turn red. Instead of some TV dinner, I grabbed a box of frozen ice cream dog treats. Wow, talk about an ironic choice.

"Oh, I grabbed the wrong box," I muttered, grabbing the treats from her. She looked like she was about to laugh.

Smooth man, real smooth.

Here I was trying to come off cool and sophisticated and instead I made a fool of myself. Jeez, what a jackass. I went back to the freezer and picked out a meatloaf TV dinner and took it back to her.

"Nice choice," she said, still smiling.

I froze as I stared at that smile. God, she was beautiful. I continued to stare, probably looking like a moron as I could sense that my mouth was hanging open. I could see her guard come back up again. I blinked and I started to hear a little voice in my head repeat over and over; _cool, calm, collected_.

"So Harry tells me your parents want you to go to college in the fall." I said as a way to get her talking.

"That's right."

"Any idea where you want to go?"

"I'm not sure I even want to go, but I was accepted at the University of Hawaii and if I go to school, that would be my first pick." Emily answered, still cautious and yet there was curiosity in her eyes too. Probably trying to figure me out. The idea of her going so far away put me in a blind panic.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with being a career person instead of college." I said. "That's what I did."

"Really, what's your career?" Emily asked.

"Errand boy," I answered and she laughed. Overwhelming need hit me like a ton of bricks and before I could stop myself, I blurted out, "Do you want to go out on Friday."

I silently cursed myself as I watched her instantly stiffen, her guard up in full force again. It was like there were a thousand invisible signs suddenly posted around her stating "Back Off!" So much for my plans.

"I really don't think that would be a good idea, do you?" Emily stated with disgust, sticking her nose slightly in the air as she said it. God, even that was cute. Again that little voice started to scream at me, _Cool, Calm, Collected!!!_

"No..ahh…probably not. Um, I should get back to work. See ya," I grabbed my lunch and left.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Still, I felt better for the first time in a week. I was able to interact with my imprint and the warmth from that interaction soothed me. Even though I made a complete ass of myself and I rushed her, I felt like humming. As there was no conceivable way to accept defeat when it came to Emily, I spent the rest of my afternoon making new plans to her woo her and hoped these would be more successful.

I headed back to the store after I got out of work. Emily was still working behind the counter and damn, Seth was there too, leaning over the counter. When he saw me, he stood up straight and crossed his thin arms over his chest. I grabbed some Ramen noodles and then went over to the sock section for no other reason then to prolong my time in the store.

"Emily, could you help me a sec," I asked. I watched her walk over to me cautiously, "No Trespassing" signs still marked invisibly all around her.

"What do you need?" She asked in a professional tone.

"Do you know which brand of these socks is most durable," I asked. Jeez, I really was Mr. Cool today. Here I was trying to hit on the woman I loved, and I used the opening line 'which socks are most durable?'

"I'm sorry, I have no idea," Emily answered before turning away, but as she turned I could see the hint of a smile cross her face. I felt my heart begin to race happily in my chest.

"Ok, I'll live dangerously and get these." I said, picking a bag of socks with some professional athlete on them. She smiled as she rang up my order. Seth rolled his eyes.

"Is this your dinner?" Emily asked holding up the Ramen noodles.

"Yeah," I laughed. "I'm not the world's greatest cook."

"Leah is a great cook," Seth chimed in.

Wow, talk about your mood killers. Emily instantly stiffened and I was hit with another wave of guilt. I quickly thanked Emily for my purchases and left the store before the urge to backhand Seth across the room became too strong. As I got closer to my house, I felt a strange shimmer in the air. As soon as I got home, I ran to the backyard and stripped out of my clothes. I ran into the forest and quickly phased and that was when I heard it.

"What the fuck is going on?"

Jared.

_**A/N – Please Review**_


	7. New

**Chapter 7 – New**

Sam's POV

"Jared."

"Who said that?" Jared asked, panicked.

"It's Sam, Jared. Follow my voice and you'll find me and I'll explain everything."

I heard a frantic running towards me and a large brown wolf suddenly appeared.

"Sam, what the hell is this? What's going on? One minute I was fighting with my girlfriend. Then Cheryl stormed off and I got really angry, and before I knew it, this happened."

"You're like me Jared. We're protectors of our tribe. Let me show you," I answered, before showing him my memories.

I showed him everything. From my earliest werewolf symptoms, to the first time I phased. I showed all the meetings that I had had with the Elders from the first revealing meeting on the cliff to all the ones since then. Three months of information flowed from me on different subjects such as how to kill vampires and how werewolves could hear each others thoughts and feel each others emotions. I explained to him that we could use that gift while coordinating attacks. More importantly, I showed him that we were still expecting more brothers.

I don't know how long we were out there while I revealed to him everything I had learned, but slowly I could sense that Jared was calming down and he was able to phase back to human form. After a few minutes, I was able to phase back as well. Jared looked at me and then looked quickly away.

"So…uh…is the nudity something we have to put up with too?" Jared asked embarrassed.

"Afraid so. They don't sell werewolf carry-ons." I laughed. "Come on, my house is right through those trees. I'll loan you some clothes and then we'll talk some more."

We headed back to my house and I picked up the clothes I had thrown in my hurry to phase. I pulled the pants back on before I entered the house. We went through the back door and I went straight to my room to grab some sweatpants. I went out to the living room where Jared stood staring, shock still evident on his face.

"Here." I handed him the pants.

"Thanks." Jared grabbed the sweats and quickly pulled them on. "Well, I guess this explains a lot…you know, why I've been feeling so hot lately and why I felt like I was ready to crawl out of my own skin…huh, I guess I was trying to crawl out of my skin." He added in a stunned tone.

"Listen, why don't you sit on the couch and relax for a few minutes. I need to make a call." I waited for Jared to nod, before I left him to call Harry. I went into the kitchen, picked up the phone, and dialed Harry's number.

"Hello?" A voice said. Oh God, it was Emily. I sucked in a breath as fierce longing slammed into me.

"Hello, is anyone there?"

"Emily, this is Sam Uley." I said.

Silence greeted me. My stomach twisted painfully as I realized she didn't want to talk to me. Then I heard the little inner voice chant again, _cool, calm, collected_. I snapped out of my frozen state.

"Emily, is Harry there?"

"Just a minute," I heard her call her uncle and every word she spoke was like a caress. I winced as I felt the familiar pain from not being near her.

"Sam, what can I do for you?" Harry came on the line.

"Harry, I just wanted to let you know that Jared phased. Pass it on to the others, okay?"

"Sure, do you need any help?"

"I've got this one. Thanks Harry."

"Sure…hey, how'd it go with your other little project today?" Harry asked. I laughed as I thought of the frozen dog treats I had almost bought for my lunch.

"It's still a work in progress." I replied before saying goodbye and going back to Jared.

"Who else is going to know about this?" Jared asked, obviously unhappy with the conversation he overheard.

"Right now? Only the Elders know and now, you and me. Some of our other brothers will most likely turn soon, and I'll tell them know what I've told you. It's almost guaranteed with the bloodsuckers living so close to the rez that there will be more of us. But Jared, I have to warn you right now, this is a strictly need-to-know basis. You can't tell anyone."

Jared was silent for a moment before nodding. He then asked, "So what's up with Emily, I thought you were dating Leah Clearwater."

"Why are you asking about Emily?" I asked in surprise. I had been very careful to not think of Emily while in wolf form.

"I don't know. You acted kind of weird when she picked up. I saw your hands shake a little bit and you looked sick when you were talking to her."

"I guess that's something else I need to explain to you," I said, sighing. I then told him about imprinting, but assured him that it was supposed to be rare.

"So if we have it in us to imprint, that doesn't necessarily mean that the person we're dating currently is our imprint, correct? I mean you were dating Leah when you imprinted on Emily, right?"

"Yeah, that's right," I said, guilt washing over me again.

"I hope I don't imprint on Cheryl, because I would hate to have to spend the rest of my life with her." Jared said in disgust. I just laughed.

"So being a wolf, is that why you cut your hair?" Jared wondered.

"Yeah, it's too long in wolf form and catches on branches so I keep it cut short. You should see yours right now."

Jared reached up only to find twigs and leaves in his hair. He got up from the couch, saying, "I guess we should cut my hair."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Jared replied. After a few moments he added, "Maybe this won't be so bad. It's kind of cool I guess…you know, being considered a protector."

I just smiled and grabbed some scissors. I wish I had taken it this well.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next day, I went to the supply store for another lunch and another Emily fix, but was severely disappointed when I walked into the building and saw Seth behind the counter. I guess as it was summer vacation Seth would be helping out in the store, but where was Emily? I walked over dejectedly to the frozen food section and grabbed an unappetizing looking Salisbury steak meal.

"So where's your cousin today?" I tried to ask casually.

"She left." Seth replied belligerently. Seth and I had always gotten along well. I knew he was furious with me though for hurting Leah. Even though they fought a lot like siblings do, they still cared and loved each other very much.

I felt a rise in panic as his words sunk in. Emily was gone. What would I do? I slowly felt myself begin to freak out and painful heat shot down my spine in warning.

"She'll be back tomorrow though. She just went to Portland for the day with my dad to get some supplies for the store." Seth added, eyeing my shaking hands warily.

I nodded and paid for my lunch, ignoring the strange look that Seth was giving me. I walked slowly back to work, barely aware of where I was going. I sucked in some fresh cool air, trying to shake off the feeling of dread that I had experienced. I didn't even feel anyone walk up to me until I heard Jared speak.

"Well, Cheryl dumped me," he said with a big smile on his face.

"Yeah, why was that?" I asked, slowly smiling in return. Jared came across as a stereotypical jock, full of confidence. I was relieved to know that it didn't seem like a lot of things would faze him.

"Of all the stupid things, she got pissed because I cut my hair. Ah well, what's on the agenda tonight?"

"Patrolling," I answered.

Jared came over to my house around twilight and we both phased and headed towards the border. I kept an ear out the entire time in case I heard Harry's voice or some hint that Emily was back.

"Ugh, dude, I can't concentrate on what I'm supposed to do if I keep thinking about Emily." Jared complained. I felt guilty that he was living my anguish with me.

"You should feel guilty. It's kind of warped making me suffer too. Listen, why don't you go see if she's back and I'll finish patrolling." Jared said. I was torn between not wanting to leave Jared so soon after he only recently changed and my longing to see Emily.

"Please leave before you make me throw up. Jeez, man up and go get her." Jared laughed.

I head butted Jared into a tree, knowing that even if I hurt him he'd heal quickly. Jared made a satisfying oof sound. I began to run towards the Clearwater house. The first thing I heard was Harry and Seth. Both were standing outside of their house, whispering to each other. I scanned the area for Emily.

"Seriously, do I have to spy on her with you too?" I heard gagging noises.

"Shut-up Jared." I growled, but I changed into my human form and stayed hidden in the woods located near the Clearwaters' home.

"You should have seen him today dad, it was freaky. When I told him that Emily wasn't on the rez, he looked like he was going to have a seizure or something." I heard Seth say to his father.

"Seth, I want you to back off and give Sam some space, alright?" Harry said, putting his hand on Seth's shoulder.

"You don't want him to be with Emily, do you? After what he did to Leah? He's a prick, dad."

"You don't understand Sam…I do. He's not a prick. He's a great man." Harry answered his son.

"A great man? Are you kidding me? What about Leah? Do you know what she would say if she knew her father wanted her ex to hook up with her cousin?" Harry and I both winced at that.

"Son, did you ever think that Leah and Sam just weren't meant to be? In the long run, they wouldn't have been happy together and Leah's happiness is as important to me as yours is. They wouldn't have been happy together in the end. So I'm asking you to leave Sam alone and give him some breathing room. You don't need to hover over him if he comes into the store. Is that clear?"

"Sure, whatever." Seth replied, before angrily stomping back into the house.

Harry stood alone with his hands in his pockets. Even from a distance, I could see his fatigue. I decided that the next time I saw him, I'd talk to him about seeing a doctor. I was soon distracted by a light turning on in the upstairs of the house. Emily walked over to the window and looked up into the now starry sky. Her skin was illuminated by the moon. She was so beautiful that I felt my breath catch. She reached up and pulled the shade down, disappearing from my view. Disappointment nearly crushed me. I was going to really have to work on "wooing" her because I didn't know how much longer I could live like this.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Over the next few weeks, I started my campaign to "woo" Emily. One thing that helped was that Paul had phased. The kid swore like a sailor, but he was quick to learn and was as dedicated to protecting the tribe as Jared and I were. He, like Jared, adjusted quickly to his new role. The biggest problem with Paul was that he had a quick temper.

He had no problems phasing. The problem was trying to get him _not_ to phase. The slightest thing would set off him off. It was especially challenging to keep him calm in public. One day while we were passing Jacob Black and his friends Quil and Embry, Quil made a comment about us and Paul almost ripped his head off. He started to phase right in front of them. His eyes started to change and he began to shake badly. I had to put my hand on his chest and give him a warning shake of the head just to get him to focus and calm down. However, with him helping to patrol, I had more time to focus on my plan to win Emily.

I started my campaign by showing up at the store whenever I could find a good enough reason to go. If I could get her to talk to me without hostility, I felt like I had won a battle. If she cracked a smile, I felt like I had single handedly won a great war. But no matter how hard I tried, I could still feel her invisible "No Trespassing" signs all around her.

Sometimes she seemed to thaw out and actually seemed to enjoy talking to me, but then she would always freeze up again. To top it all off, Leah was expected home in a matter of days. I knew I had a limited amount of time to make Emily see that we were meant to be together. I had to make that happened before Leah came home and reminded Emily who her first loyalty was.

I decided thanks in part to the extra sleep I was now getting, that I would take Jared's advice and "man up" and tell Emily the truth. I decided to tell her everything, all of it, including the fact that I paraded around at night as a wolf and that she was my imprint. I just needed to find a moment alone with her.

I knew I had run out of time when Harry told me one day that Leah was expected home the following Monday. I walked into the store that Friday with my plans formed in my mind. Emily was behind the counter and looked up, a slight smile appearing on her face when she saw it was me.

"Well what is it today, frozen nuggets or fishing line?" She asked. I had bought so many different things over the past few weeks in my attempts to get her to talk to me, my house was pretty much stocked full.

"Neither, I actually need some advice."

"On?" She asked, her eyes curious.

"Well, on Leah actually." I said and watched her instantly clam up.

"I don't think I'm the person you should come to for that," she said stiffly, but was that a hint of sadness I saw in her eyes?

"Please, Emily, you're the only one I could think of that I can talk to about this."

It wasn't a complete lie either. I just wasn't being 100% truthful and not being completely truthful to my imprint made me want to vomit from the pain. I also wasn't feeling that great about using Leah as an excuse to get alone time with Emily, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

"I don't know." Emily replied, but I could see her wavering. I felt my heart speed up.

"Please," I begged.

"Well…ok," she said slowly.

"Ok then, I'll pick you up tomorrow at 10 am. I thought we could go for a hike in the woods and we could just talk." I told her and watched her nod.

I felt like shouting I was so happy. Tomorrow was going to be perfect. I was going to tell Emily the truth and we would finally be together. Nothing could go wrong.

_**A/N – Please Review**_


	8. Desperate

_Preface_

_I never understood the idea of suicide. I never understood what would make someone so desperate that they would want take their own life...until now._

**Chapter 8 - Desperate**

Sam's POV

I woke up early around 6 am, but couldn't go back to sleep. Paul and Jared had given me the night off so that I could be rested for my date with Emily. In truth, I think they mainly didn't want me to patrol with them because I couldn't stop thinking of her and they were getting irritated with it. Harry was right. I was completely useless in my role as the Alpha and would continue to be so until I got things settled with my imprint.

I stared impatiently at the clock for a half hour before finally admitting defeat. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, I got out of bed and started getting ready for the day. After showering and throwing on some khaki shorts and a white t-shirt, I prepared my breakfast. Today I decided on six scrambled eggs, a quart of orange juice and four pieces of toast. When the clock still showed that it wasn't even 8 am, I began to clean the house just for something to do and to be honest, it really needed it. Finally it was 9:30 am. I decided to walk instead of drive over so that I could burn up more time.

I headed towards the Clearwater house and had just started to pass the supply store when I heard my name called. I turned and there was Emily leaning against the wall outside the store entrance. She, like me, was wearing khaki shorts but with a purple tank top that emphasized her curves. She looked incredible and as she walked towards me, the scent of honeysuckle hit me like an aphrodisiac.

"You look nice," I said. Nice seemed too plain a word, but I didn't want to scare her.

"Thanks," She said uncomfortably, while looking anywhere but at me. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Do you mind if we walk for a while? I don't really feel comfortable talking about this here." I said, looking knowingly towards the store where I could hear Seth rummaging around.

"Uh…sure," she replied after hesitating.

We began following a well known trail that was a favorite in La Push. I asked her all kinds of questions about what she liked and disliked, and after a while she began to ask me about mine. She soon was relaxed and talking openly. I told her a story of my bad cooking skills, a time in high school when I tried to cook french toast and ended up with food poisoning for two weeks because I didn't cook the egg thoroughly enough. She laughed so hard that tears formed in her eyes. It was the first time I had ever heard her laugh, a true heartfelt laugh, and I felt myself fall more deeply in love with her.

Before I knew it, a couple of hours had passed. We decided to take an off beat trail. I realized that we were at the clearing that Leah and I used to go to. I felt like a heel bringing Emily to this place even if it was subconscious. We began to walk closer to the waterfall, closer than Leah and I had ever been. I was quiet as I stared across the river that formed under the waterfall.

"Well, we've been talking and walking for a while now Sam. What did you really want to talk to me about?" Emily asked. I turned to look at her. Odd, something in her face seemed reluctant and I wondered if she was as unwilling to ruin the happy mood as I was.

"I wanted to talk about us," I started, watching her immediately freeze up.

"There is no us," she interrupted quickly. ""I thought you wanted me to come here to give you some advice on Leah."

"I don't want to hurt Leah anymore, but…I need you, Emily." I blurted out and then cursed myself silently.

This wasn't going right. In the anger I could sense building in her, I panicked and didn't do anything like I wanted. I could feel the heat start to burn along my spine.

"This was a mistake, I shouldn't have come here with you," Emily said, backing away from me.

"Listen, I need to tell you something. It's about you and me."

"There is no you and me," she repeated forcefully, before turning to leave. I quickly grabbed her and turned her back around to face me, pulling her to my chest. I couldn't let her leave me.

"You don't understand Emily, I love you."

She looked at me like I was crazy and I didn't blame her. I felt like I was losing it.

"You love me," she scoffed, trying to push away. "Just like you loved Leah?"

"No, please you have to listen to me...we were meant to be together." I tried to explain desperately.

"No Sam, leave me alone. I don't want anything to do with you, don't you get that? I could never be with a guy who treated my cousin like you did. I DON"T WANT YOU IN MY LIFE, SAM. I NEVER WILL!" She screamed trying uselessly to pull out of my shaking arms, even as I reached up with my left hand to cup the right side of her face.

Before I knew it, before I could even let go, the anger, the despair, and worst of all, the dangerous telling heat overwhelmed me with such an incredible force that I was still holding her when I felt my skin rip from my body. I saw in slow motion as the hand that was holding her face turned into a sharp nailed paw. I watched it rip into her skin, cutting the corner of her eye and then down to her mouth as blood began to flow everywhere. I tried to pull back, but as I did the paw ripped down her neck, shoulder, and arm. My other arm that had been holding her was crushing her, and I heard something snap before I was able to let go. She immediately fell to the ground.

I took a few steps back and looked down at her broken, bleeding body. She seemed to shake for a minute like she was having a seizure and then she didn't move. I opened my mouth to scream and listened to the blood curdling howl of the wolf. Instantly, Jared and Paul popped into my head and saw what had happened. I felt Jared pop back out and I soon heard the pounding steps of Paul. I looked up and saw a dark silver wolf run through the trees to where I was circling Emily. He had his clothes in his mouth.

"Jared's getting his ATV and went to go get Sue Clearwater," Paul explained. Sue was a registered nurse. It was good thinking. That was the last coherent thought I had as I heard Emily start to whimper. Another howl ripped from my throat.

"I'm gonna change," Paul told me.

He changed into his human form and quickly pulled on his shorts, but he took his shirt and put it against Emily's face and neck in an attempt to stop the flow of blood. The shirt immediately soaked through. I felt snarls coming from deep inside my chest. In what seemed like hours, but was probably only 10 minutes, Paul and I both looked up as we heard the speeding noise of the ATV coming up the trail from La Push.

"You'd better go Sam," Paul told me. I snarled ferociously in return. Paul quickly held his hands up in truce. "You don't want Sue to see you."

For a minute I didn't care if Sue or the whole world saw me, but I knew that the sight of a monstrous wolf standing next to her injured niece might distract Sue from helping Emily. I quickly ran over to Emily nudging her leg gently with my nose and ran into the woods. I stopped far away enough where Sue wouldn't notice me, but where I could see everything. I saw Jared's Yamaha Rhino ATV stop on the main trail and both Jared and Sue hopped out of it, running down the side trail towards Emily.

"What happened?" Sue asked quickly bending over her niece.

"Bear attack," Paul answered.

"Where's Sam?" Sue asked in a calm, professional tone as she began working on Emily.

"He ran back to get help. I was walking on the trails when I heard the noise and I told Sam I'd stay with Emily until help arrived."

"How did you know where they were Jared," Sue looked up briefly.

"Cell phone," Jared answered. She glanced at Paul who very obviously didn't have a phone on him.

"I dropped it and Sam took off before I could tell him I had called Jared," Paul added lamely. Sue frowned, not believing a word they were telling her, but too concerned over Emily to inquire more.

"We'll have to move her carefully, I think her rib is broken and it looks like the muscle in her shoulder has been ripped apart."

Paul and Jared leaned down and carefully picked up Emily. She whimpered and I began to softly snarl. Sue didn't hear it, but both of my brothers did. Jared quickly shook his head in warning. They laid Emily in the back cab area of the ATV. Sue climbed in next to her and leaned over Emily gently to secure her in place. Jared climbed in behind the steering wheel and started the engine.

"Paul, aren't you coming?" Sue implored, not liking the idea of leaving someone behind when there was a crazed animal in the area.

"No, you guys go ahead." Paul answered.

Jared gunned it before Sue could argue. As soon as they were out of the area, Paul walked over to a bush and threw up. He then quickly phased.

"Sorry Sam," Paul said, worried that I was angry with him for his reaction. All I could think about was Emily.

"Go to the hospital with Jared. I can't change back right now. Neither one of you leave until you get word on her condition."

"I can't leave you alone like this Sam," Paul implored.

"Do it," I commanded and when I said it there was a change in my voice. It almost sounded like two voices were yelling instead of one. Paul immediately dropped to the ground. I had forgotten about the Alpha's ability to order, but I wouldn't release him from my instructions. Emily was top priority.

"Ok, I'm going" Paul said, slowly getting up, before running full speed back to La Push. I soon felt him phase out of my head, and I howled to release some of the terror that had been building in me since I saw Emily lifeless on the ground.

If anything happened to her I didn't know what I was going to do. All I knew was that I wouldn't be able to go on. I thought briefly of throwing myself off the cliffs in La Push, but I knew that even if I jumped off the top cliff I'd survive the jump somehow. An image of a dead dog on the side of the road popped in my head. Maybe that's what I would do; throw myself under a bus like the dog I was. That should be enough to end my existence.

Even if Emily survived, I'd still have to contemplate ending my life. Because if she lived, I knew there was no way she would forgive me. No way she could ever love the monster she now knew I was.

_**A/N – Please Review**_


	9. Visitors

_A/N – I know this is Sam's story, but I had to do this chapter from a different perspective. I hope you like it. Please let me know what you think._

**Chapter 9 – Visitors**

Emily's POV

The first thing I heard was a beeping noise. It was steady, but seemed to increase lightly as I became more aware of my surroundings. Then I felt the pain. It wasn't bad, but it was dull and constant.

"Emily, honey?" I heard the voice of my Aunt Sue. I tried to respond, but I felt like I was tied down to a thousand weights and I was unable to move. I tried to open my eyes but couldn't get the energy to do so. "Em, can you hear me? Your parents are on their way."

That was the last I heard before the darkness consumed me again. The next thing I heard were male voices, two guys and a voice I recognized as my uncle's.

"Any change?" One of the guys asked.

"Not yet. We thought she was waking up earlier but she's under so many drugs I doubt she'll be coherent for a while." My uncle answered. "Listen, why don't you boys go home. We'll let you know if anything changes."

"I can't," replied the other guy before adding, "I'm under orders."

"Any word from Sam?" My uncle asked.

"I let him know that she was alive, and that she had a broken rib, a torn rotator cuff, and some nerve damage to the face, but that was all we knew. He's still too upset to change," The first guy answered.

"Jared, Paul…you guys look exhausted. It's 3 o'clock in the morning. If you won't go home, why don't you go in the waiting room and try to get some sleep. I'll let you know if there's any change."

I tried to focus on who Jared and Paul were and why they would be waiting to hear news about me. I then remembered that they were the two guys who followed Sam around a lot. I didn't even have a chance to think about what they said about my injuries before the darkness pulled me under again. The next time I woke, it was to hear my mother's sobs and my father's low voice as he spoke to the doctor.

"What's the prognosis?"

"She'll need to have physical therapy done on her shoulder to regain full mobility. We repaired the cuff, so she shouldn't have too many problems with it. Unfortunately there is not a lot we can do for the nerve damage in her face. She was lucky the bear didn't hit her eye directly."

"What about the rest of her face?" My mother sobbed quietly.

"Your insurance doesn't cover what they consider cosmetic surgery," the doctor answered, disdain in his voice. "The right side of her body will be heavily scarred. But once she heals, there are options out there she can explore to reduce her scars, laser surgery for one. However, with the extent of damage, it'll be very expensive to try to correct."

Again, I fell into a deep sleep. When I woke again, I sensed that it was late at night. I could tell by the quietness of the hospital. I heard a person crying quietly next to my bed and felt someone holding my hand. Whoever it was had very hot skin.

The sound was heart breaking and made me want to cry too. Summoning up all the strength I had, I tried to open my eyes. One eye felt like it was glued shut and I was able to register that something was covering that eye. I opened my other eye and had to close it again immediately as my eye hurt from seeing light for the first time in a while.

"Emily?" A tear choked voice asked.

I focused again and opened my eye. Holding my hand with tears running down his face was Sam. His tortured expression made me flinch and I had to close my eye again. I felt him release my hand and I reached up to touch his face, to reassure him, but I didn't feel anything.

"Sam." I whispered, but when I opened my eye again he was gone and I wanted to cry too. "Sam" I tried to call out again, but the pain got to be too much and I began to cry in earnest. A nurse came in.

"How do you feel?" The nurse asked.

"Hurt," I responded softly. My mouth felt tight and was hard to move.

"Let me check with the doctor on call about getting you something for the pain," she replied, before picking up the phone next to my bed.

"Dr Cullen, I'm here with Dr Weaver's patient in room 204. She's complaining about pain….right…okay, I'll increase her morphine. Thank you." The nurse left the room before returning quickly with a syringe.

"Do you want me to let someone know you're awake?" The nurse asked as she injected some medication into my IV. "Your parents and aunt and uncle are in the waiting room."

"Sam," I whispered.

"I'm sorry, I don't think there's a Sam out there with them," the nurse said.

In that moment I wished I was dead, the despair hit me so hard. Thankfully, the drugs the nurse had just administered kicked in and I fell into a deep, untroubled sleep. When I woke up again, it was light outside. My mother and uncle were sitting in the two chairs in my room talking quietly to each other.

"Mom," I whispered. My mom got up from her chair and hurried over to the side of the bed.

"Oh, baby," my mom cried.

"My mouth," I tried to speak, but everything came out mumbled. I reached up slowly and felt that the right side of my face was covered in gauze. I tried to feel the right side of my mouth but it was covered as well.

"Don't touch it, Hun. You need to keep the bandages on for awhile?"

"What happened?" I whispered.

"You were attacked by a bear and your aunt Sue and one of the kids from the rez brought you into the hospital."

A bear? That didn't sound right. I tried to focus my drug induced mind on what happened. The last thing I could remember was seeing Sam. Sam and then…I tried to remember, but everything was so muddled.

"My face?" I asked.

"Well, you have about 400 stitches over your entire body right now including your face, and the doctors said that a part of your lip and eye have some damage. You're going to be pretty scarred…but what did we use to call scars when you were little, war wounds? Think of the stories you'll be able to tell about surviving a bear attack."

I tried to smile for my mom, knowing she was just trying to cheer me up, but I just nodded and looked around the room. No one else was there and I felt my heart break. Maybe he wouldn't want anything to do with me now that I was hideous. Immediately, guilt overwhelmed me. It was the same guilt that had been consuming me from the first moment I laid eyes on him. I turned my head away and began to cry again.

"Oh, honey," my mother said and began to cry too. My uncle got up and left the room and before I knew it, a nurse came in and gave me something to knock me out again.

The next time I woke, my head was clear of all drugs and with it came some very strange memories. I remembered going hiking with Sam. We were talking and laughing and having a good time. I had fought so hard not to enjoy myself.

I had tried for so long not to fall in love with Sam. From the first moment I saw him at my family reunion a couple of years ago, I was fascinated by him. When I saw him again last month, I began to develop real feelings for him and had felt sick to my stomach with guilt because he was Leah's boyfriend and had been for years. I loved Leah like a sister, wouldn't do anything to harm her, especially after she and Sam broke up and her heart was broken.

But the more I saw of him over the past few weeks, the deeper I found my attraction to him getting. I had begun spending extra time in the morning getting ready for work, spraying on my favorite honeysuckle perfume, all because I knew I'd see him there. I found myself looking at the clock in the store and counting the minutes until I knew he would come in for his lunch break. I began to look forward everyday to 5 o'clock just because I knew I'd see him one last time for the day.

I felt terrible, like I was stabbing Leah in the back. I fought my feelings every minute of the day. I never even talked to Sam if I could help it out of loyalty to Leah. That didn't mean I didn't watch his every movement when he wasn't looking, but I didn't act on what I felt, not once. When he asked me to go for the hike, I knew I should have said no. But with Leah coming home, I was aware that it was the last chance I had to be with him. And as we walked and talked to each other, I realized that I had fallen deeply in love him.

I frowned as I began to remember more. I remembered he told me he loved me. And I denied his feelings and mine because of Leah. When he pulled me into his arms, I wanted to desperately lay my head against his chest and give in to the longing I had been trying to deny for so long. But I didn't…because of Leah. Instead, I lied to him and told him I didn't want him in my life and I had felt my heart shatter into a million pieces. And Sam began to shake so hard he blurred and then…then he was gone…and in his place….

I jumped as the doctor, a nurse, and my parents and Uncle Harry came in.

'Hello, I'm Dr. Weaver, I'm overseeing your case. Well, let's see how you're doing today. How's the pain?" Dr. Weaver asked and waited for me answer. I told him it wasn't bad and he continued, "We're going to need to change the bandages, ok?"

I nodded and he and the nurse began to work. When the bandages came off my face, I had to blink from the pain of the light overhead. I heard my mother gasp.

"Dr Weaver, before you bandage my face back up, I'd like to see it," I said.

The doctor nodded slowly before he and the nurse unhooked me from the heart monitor and the nurse helped me into the bathroom with my IV stand. She had to help hold me up as my legs were weak from laying for so long. I stared at the mirror in shock.

Three angry lines of stitches ran from my hairline, down my cheek, past my neck before disappearing into my hospital night gown. I could see past the short sleeves of the gown that the scars ran all the way down my arm to my fingertips. My eye looked like it was being pulled down and my lip looked like it was in a permanent frown. I looked like a monster and began to cry as depression hit me strong and fierce. The nurse helped me back to my bed where the doctor then put fresh dressing on my wounds and left me with my parents and uncle.

"Can all of you leave me alone for a little while, please?" I begged. I needed a moment to myself.

"Sure honey," My mom leaned over and kissed the good side of my face, my father followed. My uncle squeezed my hand and told me they'd be in the waiting room if I needed them. I turned on the bed to lie on my good side so I could stare out the window. I laid there for I don't know how long when I heard someone come in. The person walked over to the side of the bed I was facing. When I looked up, my stomach dropped and became instantly queasy.

"Hey Em," Leah said. "I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier. My dad told me not to change my flight since you were pretty much comatose and only really woke up today. How are you feeling?"

"Okay," I mumbled, finding that I couldn't look her in the eyes.

"Seth said you went hiking and you were attacked at Pìpíkcha waterfall." Leah said, sadness for me in her voice, but I could also hear the hint of bitterness she was trying to hide. I finally looked at her and held her gaze. I realized that she knew I had been hiking with Sam.

"Don't worry Leah, I got exactly what I deserved," I said, depression rolling over me again as I turned on my back and faced the ceiling.

"Leah!" My uncle called in a tone that used to scare us when we were little. It was a tone that meant we were in trouble. Leah didn't seem fazed. She just looked up at her father and nodded.

"I'm really sorry you got hurt, Em," She said, squeezing my hand lightly before leaving.

I turned back on my side and stared out the window. I knew it was pointless, but I couldn't help but wish that Sam was here with me. I missed his big strong presence and wanted nothing more than for him to tell me again that he loved me. I wanted him to tell me everything was going to be okay. I thought again of my reflection in the mirror and I knew there was no point in hoping.

**_A/N – Please Review_**


	10. Stay

**Chapter 10 - Stay**

Emily's POV

I stood by my hospital bed, packing up the few personal items I had with me. I'd been in here for two weeks and was ready to go. I managed to convince my parents that I wanted to return to La Push. They couldn't understand why I didn't want to come home and a small part of me wondered if I was crazy. It was after all the scene where I'd been brutally attacked by a wild bear.

I also knew returning would put me in a lose/lose situation. If I returned, I might see Sam and it would break my heart knowing I couldn't be with him because of Leah. If I did act on impulse and found a way back into his life after what I had said to him, it would kill Leah. The strange thing was that I didn't feel fear or worry that I would be attacked again.

I tried to think of what exactly had happened the day I got hurt. All I could remember was Sam holding me in his arms. He'd been shaking so badly that he'd been blurry. And because he was holding on to me, he had shaken me as well. The next thing I knew, there was something large and black in place of where Sam had been standing.

Whatever it was had looked more like a freakishly large wolf to me than a bear, but my memory was fuzzy. What I knew for sure was that one minute Sam was there and the next, a black wolf or bear was hitting me in the face. I didn't remember much after its nails dug into my skin except falling and then being on the ground. I could remember hearing male voices and my aunt's, but after that I didn't remember anything until I woke up in the hospital.

"Are you ready to go, honey?" I looked up as my Uncle Harry came through my hospital room door. He was taking me back to La Push as my parents had left for home a half hour before.

"Yes, I'm ready," I answered as I zipped up my bag.

We walked through the halls of the hospital and out to his car. I tried to ignore the gawking stares of complete strangers, but I cringed every time someone stared at me. A little girl pointed at me as I walked by her, but her mother looking up at my scarred face, quickly drew her child's hand down.

I pushed my long hair forward to cover my damaged cheek. I was thankful that my mom had brought me a long sleeved turtleneck to wear home even though it was the beginning of July and I was hot. The sleeves covered up a lot of my scars which helped me feel not as self-conscious. I wore it with a skirt that flowed to my knees in an attempt to feel cooler.

"Why don't you and I get a coffee before we go back to the rez," Uncle Harry offered as we pulled out of the hospital parking lot.

"Oh no, that's okay. I'm not thirsty," I answered, horrified by the idea of being out in public any longer than I had to be.

"Em, you can't hide away."

"I know that, but can't I have a little time?" I looked up at him, feeling tears at the back of my eyes.

"I love you like you were own child Em, but I'm not going to let you lock yourself away somewhere. If you start hiding now, you'll never stop," my uncle said, pulling into the only diner in Forks. It was mid-day so most people were at work, but I still cringed at the idea of strangers seeing me. I got out of the car, covering my face again with my hair.

My uncle and I walked into the diner and I quickly walked over to a booth without a window. I sat with my right side facing the wall so that my face wouldn't be as noticeable. A waitress came over to our table to take our order and did a double take when she saw me. Although the stitches were out, my skin was red and puckered looking. My uncle ordered a coffee and I ordered a Coke.

"So how you doing Em, really?" My uncle asked.

"Aside from feeling like I'm a freak show, just great," I said, sarcastically. "Look, I'm sorry Uncle Harry, I just don't want to be here right now."

"I know Honey, but I needed to talk to you about something, and I didn't want to do it once we got back on the rez."

That made me curious. My uncle was usually very forthright about things. The only times I saw him being remotely secretive was when one or both of the Elders came over for meetings. There had been quite a few meetings over the past few months and my uncle and the other men would disappear for hours into his office.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked.

"What do you remember of the attack?"

I hesitated before whispering guiltily, "I was with Sam."

My uncle nodded and didn't seem upset by the fact that I was with his daughter's ex.

"We were talking and then I don't know what happened. One minute he was there and the next I was being attacked by a wolf."

"I thought you were attacked by a bear," he said, a strangely satisfied look on his face.

"I…I don't know. Maybe it was a bear, but…I don't know, I could have sworn it was a wolf, but a really large one."

"And what were you and Sam talking about?"

"That's private," I said, instantly clamming up.

"Did he tell you he had feelings for you?" My uncle inquired.

"I..I.."

"It's okay Em, I've known for awhile how he feels about you."

I couldn't answer him. I was surprised by Harry's reaction. I thought he would be furious on behalf of his daughter. I was about to comment on that when he turned the tables on me.

"The more important question is, how do you feel about him?"

"I don't know," I said, not looking at him. I started to play with the corner of my napkin that was on the table as I felt a blush bloom across my damaged face.

"Well, I'm going to assume from your expression that you have feelings for him too," my uncle said with a half smile appearing on his face.

"But what about Leah?" I stammered.

"I love Leah with all my heart, and I want her to be happy. She and Sam wouldn't have been happy together in the long run." My uncle hesitated before going on, looking me straight in the eye. "Leah has never needed Sam the way Sam needs you. And he needs you pretty bad right now, Em. He feels terrible about what happened to you. He hasn't even been seen since you were injured. He's holed himself up in his house. He won't even speak to Jared or Paul."

"But why is he reacting that way? It wasn't his fault."

"There's a lot more to Sam than you know, but that's his story to tell," my uncle replied, looking at me for a long time before adding, "The question is, will you give him the chance to tell you?"

I could only nod. As silly as it was considering the things I'd said to Sam and the fact that we never dated, I was upset that he hadn't come to see me in the hospital after that first time. I really _missed_ him. I had become addicted to his visits to the store, even though I tried to pretend I wasn't interested in him. When I didn't see him after that first time in the hospital, a part of me missed him so badly that it actually hurt.

"Why don't I take you over to Sam's right now and you can let him tell you his story? Harry asked. "I have to warn you though, he's pretty messed up. Paul told me he heard Sam muttering something about suicide."

"Let's go right now then." I jumped up not even touching my Coke. My uncle smiled at me and got up, leaving some money on the table. As we began to leave, we passed a young couple with two little kids, a boy and a girl. The little boy pointed up to me.

"What happened to your face?" The boy asked before his mother could shush him.

"Bear attack," I mumbled, not even stopping in my urgency to get to Sam. I heard both kids say "cool" before the door shut behind us as we left the diner.

We got in the car and headed back to the reservation. My uncle didn't even pause as we passed the Clearwater house. He headed to the other side of the rez and turned down a dirt lane that led to a secluded home.

"Remember to listen to what he has to say." Harry reminded me. "Because Sam needs you, Em, more than you know. And we all need Sam…the entire tribe."

"I don't understand what you mean by that," I said as I looked at my uncle. He just smiled and muttered something about "Sam will explain."

"I love you kid," my uncle added. I reached over and hugged him.

"I love you too Uncle Harry. Thank you."

I got out of the car and walked towards Sam's house. I knocked on the blue colored front door and when there was no answer I let myself in. As I shut the door behind me, I heard my uncle's car head back up the lane.

"Hello," I called out.

I walked into the front room which was the kitchen. The stench of something rotten hit me making me want to gag. I looked over at the counter. There were dirty plates that looked like they hadn't been touched in weeks sitting everywhere. The garbage overflowed from the bin.

I walked quickly out of the room and headed down the hall, passing a bathroom as I made my way towards the back of the house. I walked into the living room. To the right of the area was a door that I led to what I could only assume was the bedroom. I hesitated before knocking softly on the door. When there was no answer, I let myself in.

At first I didn't see anything, but then I let out a startled gasp as I saw Sam sitting on the floor in the corner of the room. He had his arms folded across his knees, his head resting against them. When he heard my gasp, his head shot up and I sucked in a breath of stale air.

The man sitting dejectedly on the floor wasn't even a shadow of Sam. His face was gaunt, like he hadn't eaten in weeks. His clothes hung loosely on his body and he looked like he hadn't shaved or bathed in awhile. His hair which he normally kept cut short, looked dirty and unkempt. And worse were his eyes. They looked dead in his pale face.

"Emily?" Sam whispered gravelly. He was staring at me like I was an apparition or something.

"What have you done to yourself?" I asked in shock.

"Emily? What…what are you doing here?"

_I missed you. I need you desperately. Please tell me you love me still even with my scars. _

As I wasn't ready to blurt out those thoughts, I told him another truth instead.

"Everyone is really worried about you. They say you've locked yourself away and won't talk to anyone."

"I didn't want to see anyone."

"When was the last time you ate?" I asked tentatively.

"I don't know," he replied.

"You need to eat something."

"I'm not hungry."

"Well I am and I won't eat in front of you without you eating something yourself," I stated before adding cheekily, "It's a girl thing. Will you eat something with me?"

Sam smiled slightly and slowly nodded.

"Do you have anything edible in this house?

"I think there's some cans of soup in one of the cupboards," he replied, looking a little bit more alive.

I nodded before asking, "Can you do me a favor?"

"Emily, I'd do anything for you, you just don't seem to know it yet."

"Okay then, while I'm getting lunch ready, will you go take a shower?"

He laughed a little before saying hesitantly, "You'll stay, right?"

"I'm not going anywhere."

He slowly got up from the floor and stretched. I heard some bones crack and it made me wonder how long he'd been sitting there. While Sam went to take his shower, I walked back into the kitchen and found a dirty pan and scrubbed it out. Next, I found a can of chicken noodle soup and emptied it out into the pan. It was just warming up when Sam walked into the kitchen, shaven and smelling a lot better. He was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt. Something about him in black startled me for a second. I watched as the shirt moved across his well built chest and I quickly looked back down to the pan.

"You shouldn't be doing anything," He told me as he walked over to the counter and reached for the spoon in my hand.

"I think I can manage this. Can you take the garbage out?" I asked, while moving the spoon out of his reach.

He quickly grabbed the odorous bag and took it out the front door to the outside garbage bin. When he came back in, he filled the sink with soapy water and began to throw some dirty dishes in the hot liquid. I pulled down a couple of mismatched bowls I found in his cupboard and poured soup in each one.

We walked over to the kitchen table and sat down. As I began to eat, I felt his eyes on me. I looked up and saw his face filled with a sorrow he couldn't hide. I quickly pulled my hair forward to cover my scars.

"Don't," Sam pleaded, leaning over the table to push my hair out of the way before gently touching the injured side of my face with the back of his fingers.

I closed my eyes as the warmth of his flesh glided softy down my scarred cheek. I felt a tingling shoot out over my skin at his touch. He pulled his hand away and we both continued to eat our soup.

"You came to see me in the hospital, right? I didn't imagine it?" I asked as we ate. I was positive that he had been there, but I'd been under so much medication at the time I had to make sure.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you with my visit. I shouldn't have bothered you," Sam said remorsefully.

"Why did you think I was upset?"

"You flinched when you saw me."

"I don't remember that. I just remember your face looked so terrible, like you were in pain and…it upset me," I finished weakly.

"Why would it matter if I was in pain?" Sam questioned somewhat tenderly.

"I didn't…want you to be in pain," I whispered.

Sam looked at me before getting up from the table and taking our now empty dishes to the sink. He turned back to me and grabbed my scarred hand and gently pulled me out of my chair and walked me back into the living room. We walked over to the couch and he sat me down before sitting down next to me. He leaned his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together. He looked conflicted, like he had to tell me something, but before he could say anything, I began to speak. I needed to get something out in the open.

"You know, my uncle told me your friends said something about you mentioning suicide," I told him, beginning to feel panicky and angry again at the idea of him not being alive.

"It was my fault," Sam mumbled. His eyes began to look haunted again.

"What was your fault?"

"What happened to you," Sam replied, before meeting my eyes. "It was all my fault."

I didn't understand at first and then something clicked in my mind and my memory was no longer fuzzy. My brain flashed back to the attack and I could see it as though I was watching a movie.

I remembered him shaking. I saw him pulling me close and reaching out to touch my face. I saw his features become distorted and then the wolf was there attacking me. Maybe my subconscious knew the entire time that it was him, because I never wondered once what had happened to Sam while I was being attacked.

"It was you, wasn't it? You're the wolf," I whispered. Sam put his face in his hands. He looked so tormented that my heart ached all over again. I slowly moved closer to him on the couch until our legs were practically touching.

"I don't understand Sam," I admitted.

"It's something inside me. Something that's in my blood that's been passed down for generations. I became what I am to protect our tribe. I am the werewolf that you saw," Sam acknowledged, still not looking at me, his back stiff. "You see, werewolves have a natural enemy…vampires. I know it might sound crazy, but vampires actually exist just like werewolves exist. There's a huge coven that lives not that far from the reservation. Whenever there are bloodsuckers in the area, descendents of Taha Aki turn into what you saw that day. I was made to protect the tribe."

He looked up at me then, probably expecting me to run away. I reached over with my injured hand and touched his. He took hold of my hand, bringing it to his face to gently kiss the scars that were there. I felt my heart melt at the gesture.

"Have the vampires that live nearby attacked anyone yet?" I wondered. I didn't doubt for a moment that everything he told me was true. How could I when I had first hand experience that werewolves truly existed?

"No. They're supposed to be different than other vampires. They lived in the area before and made a pack with our tribe that they wouldn't hunt people and would stay off our land."

"What happens if they don't stay off?"

"Then its war," he said matter of factually.

I shuddered before getting up off the couch. I made my way over to the slider door and stared out the window. It was weird that I wasn't scared of Sam now that I knew the truth. I kept thinking about what my uncle said.

_Sam needs you, Em, more than you know. And we all need Sam…the entire tribe."_

Why did I feel like I was missing something? I could only assume that Harry knew the truth about what Sam was. He was an Elder after all. But why would he push me at Sam? Harry didn't act like he hated Sam…just the opposite in fact. He seemed almost proud of him. So why would he encourage me to go talk to him? Why not Leah?

"What about me, Sam? Where do I fit in all of this?" I asked, turning to look at him.

He hesitated before saying, "You're my imprint."

"And what is that?"

"It's our way…the wolves' way…of finding our soul mates. It means that you and I were made for each other. You're my other half. When I saw you at Leah's graduation party, I took one look at you and it was like my gravity shifted. You became the center of my whole world, Em. What you feel, I feel. We share a connection that I've never experienced before with another person and will never experience again."

A sense of relief flowed through me as his words gently soothed away the pain and depression I had felt since being injured. It explained so much to me. Why I longed to be with him even when I didn't feel like I had the right. I never understood the sadness that seemed to reside in me when he wasn't around. Now it made sense. There was something powerful between us. We were meant to be together. And I understood now why my uncle was so accepting of me going out with Sam. He knew that I was the one meant to be with Sam, not Leah.

And as horrible and selfish as it was, I realized I had two options before me. I could reject Sam and we could all be miserable, including Leah, because I now knew Sam would never take her back. Or I could accept my fate. I could grab whatever happiness was offered and only pray that Leah would find her own soul mate someday. I looked at Sam and felt all the uncertainty and indecision melt away.

I was going to accept what was meant to be. Smiling, I walked back over to Sam and sat next to him. He immediately picked up my scarred arm and pushed the sleeve up, before kissing the three sharp red lines that marred my skin.

"How many wolves are there?" I asked after a moment, trying to not hyperventilate at the feel of his lips against my flesh.

"So far, me, Jared, and Paul, but with the size of the Cullen coven, there will probably be more."

"Cullens? As in Dr. Cullen? The Dr. Cullen who was on call a few times while I was in the hospital?" I questioned. Sam's hand shook briefly, even though he was still holding mine. I gently squeezed his hand and he instantly calmed down.

"Harry and one of my brothers was always at the hospital with you while he was on a call. I never left you in the hospital alone with him once," he promised.

"But a vampire as a doctor?" I wondered in disbelief.

"I know, but he hasn't done anything yet. As I said, these vampires are different. However, if he or anyone else in his coven try anything, we'll be there to protect the humans."

"Wait, you said Harry? So he knows about you and that I'm your im-imprint, right?"

"He and the other Elders know everything. They're the ones who explained everything to me once I changed."

"How long have you been like this?" I asked.

"I started developing the symptoms a year before. Small things like my sense of smell started improving and I felt physically stronger. And then in the months leading up to the change, I started growing really fast, getting taller, and I started to gain muscle without effort. One day about four months ago, I got really upset and morphed into what you saw. It took two weeks for me to calm down enough that I could phase back."

I remembered Leah telling me about the time Sam had vanished and how angry she'd been when he came back and wouldn't explain his disappearance. I momentarily felt sick again, because I knew that I was going to hurt Leah in a way that might just damage our relationship forever. But I couldn't leave Sam. He needed me, just as he tried telling me the day I got hurt. And I needed him too. I couldn't imagine my life anymore without having Sam in it.

Which reminded me. "Sam, would you have really killed yourself over what happened?"

"Yes," he answered without hesitating. "I would still throw myself under a bus if it made things easier for you."

"It wasn't your fault, so please don't blame yourself." Before he could interrupt I raised my hand to his mouth and covered it. "Promise me that you won't ever hurt yourself. Promise me, Sam, because I…I can't live without you."

He kissed my hand that covered his mouth, his eyes finally burning bright with life again.

"I promise," he said against my skin.

I withdrew my hand and looked out the window. It was starting to get dark.

"I should probably go," I said, not moving from the couch. Sam immediately shook his head.

"Stay," he pleaded. He got up from the couch and got on his knees, going between my legs.

"Stay," he whispered as he leaned in to kiss the scars on my cheek.

"Stay" he said again as he began to kiss along my jaw line and slowly down my neck.

"Stay," he begged softly once more. I slowly nodded my head, lost in a sensual haze.

He leaned in and kissed my lips. The world seemed to spin and then burst as I felt his tongue glide along the opening of my mouth. Sam pulled back and reached down to the hem of my shirt and carefully lifted it off my head. He proceeded to kiss each inch of my scars from my shoulder all the way down to the tips of my fingers. He got up from the floor, bringing me up with him. Sam leaned into kiss me one more time before taking my hand and leading me into the bedroom.

_**A/N – Please Review!**_


	11. Heat

**Chapter 11 – Heat**

Emily's POV

I woke up feeling slightly confused before memory returned. Sam. I could feel his warm body wrapped around me from behind. That's what woke me up, I think, the heat. The hot arm around my hip felt like a heating pad. I had to twist carefully on my back to use my good arm to gently lift his arm off my body. He turned on his back, his one arm still reaching out in sleep to touch my side.

I stared at his face that was angled my way. My breath caught as I looked at him. He was beautiful. His long black eyelashes rested over high cheekbones. His thick eyebrows were angled in a frown as though his subconscious had registered that he was no longer holding me. His lips were perfect, not too large or thin. They were perfect for kissing.

I sighed as I looked back up at the ceiling. Kissing was all we did the night before. Ironically, he was the one who pulled back first, because I stupidly had whimpered in pain when I had tried to reach for him. The pain from my shoulder and rib area prevented me from moving like I had wanted to.

After I whimpered, he had immediately jumped out of bed to get me a glass of water and my pain pills out of my skirt pocket. He gently scolded me for not telling him the pain was getting bad and assisted me in sitting up so that I could swallow the pills. He helped me change out of my skirt and loaned me one of his shirts to sleep in.

He was the perfect gentleman much to my disappointment. But I think he understood my pain even better than I did and refused to go any farther then holding me in his arms. We laid together for a long time as he told me more of the legends that turned out to be true. I was surprised to learn that the tribal council considered him chief of the tribe. Sam told me though that that would change if Jacob Black became a werewolf. If he chose to take it, Jacob would inherit the title because his great-grandfather was the last tribal chief.

When I became too sleepy, he had held me closer and I had felt safe and loved. Throughout the night, whenever I was somewhat coherent, I felt him gentling kissing my hair, the scarred side of my face, and my injured hand over and over as though he were trying to kiss away the pain.

I knew that it wouldn't be until mid-September before my rib healed and as for my arm, I had six months of physical therapy to look forward to. It wouldn't be so bad. Sam said he'd drive me to every appointment and would stay the length of the long sessions. He also had volunteered to help me with my exercises that I was supposed to do at home. I looked back over to him and noticed that his eyes were open and he staring at me with a strange smile on his face.

"What?" I asked, smiling because I couldn't help myself.

"I just wondered if anyone else in our tribal history has ever had so much trouble with their imprints before."

"Oh, I was trouble was I?" I turned and with my good arm, poked his side. He laughed, rolling us both over until I was on my back again and he was carefully hovering over me.

"Yes, but definitely worth it," he said, leaning over to kiss the scars on my neck. Just as I was about to sigh in contentment, he pulled back.

"When I think about what I had to go through just to get you to talk to me. You really think I needed candle wax? I don't even know what you do with it." I laughed as I thought about some of the off-the-wall purchases Sam had made on his daily visits to the store.

"And yet here you are in my arms. I didn't think you would ever speak to me after what happened." His face became serious. I reached up with my left hand and touched the short crop of hair on his head before cupping his face.

"I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean any of it. I just felt like I had to push you away because of Leah." I said, then groaned and put my hands over my face.

"What? Are you in pain?" Sam worriedly asked.

"Leah," I mumbled through my hands, "what am I'm going to do about Leah."

"I don't know love, but we'll figure it out."

I peeked through my fingers at his guilt-ridden face and leaned up to kiss his chin.

Just then I heard his stomach growl fiercely. We both laughed.

"Do you have anything in this house to eat that isn't soup or rotten?"

"I think there are some pop-tarts somewhere," he answered pushing away from the bed before leaning over to gently lift me off the bed. I grimaced as my rib area throbbed painfully.

"Okay, so pain pills and pop-tarts it is," Sam said, grabbing my pills off the table.

As he headed for the kitchen, I stopped in the bathroom to freshen up. I tried combing my hair with my fingers, but it didn't help much. I washed my hands and grabbed some toothpaste off the counter and tried to brush my teeth with my finger. It took away the morning taste in my mouth, but I was really looking forward to having my toothbrush again. After I was done, I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

The scars looked terrible, but my face seemed to glow under the fluorescent light. I knew that was because of Sam. A part of me felt so incredibly happy that I felt like I was going to burst. Another part of me felt sick at the thought of Leah. Telling her the truth was out of the question. Only the Elders, wolves, and any imprints were allowed to know the truth. She wouldn't understand and would think I betrayed her. Would she ever forgive me?

I left the bathroom and headed towards the kitchen. The smell of something burning caught my attention even before I heard Sam swearing to himself. I laughed at the sight of him standing over the toaster, waving around two smoking black objects that I could only assume were pop-tarts at one time. He looked at me sheepishly.

"I wasn't kidding when I said I couldn't cook," he laughed.

"Throw those away and I will get the pop-tarts." I said.

"I don't want you to do anything physical," he worried.

"This hardly takes any movement. Just go sit down before you set the kitchen on fire."

He headed to the bathroom first as I fixed breakfast. When he came back, we sat at the table and ate while he told me more of his cooking horror stories. After we were done eating, he got up from the table and cleaned the dishes that were on the counter. He turned and faced me, looking a little nervous.

"So I was thinking that things are probably going to be a little uncomfortable for you at the Clearwater house and I thought that maybe you could move in here…at least until you heal. That way I can help you with your recovery and take you to your appointments. You could have the bedroom and I could sleep on the couch. It'd make me feel better knowing you're here." Sam rambled, not looking at me.

"What about my job? I still work at the supply store." I remarked, while feeling disappointment that he didn't want to share a room with me.

"Well, you could take my job at the tribal office. My mom is kind of in charge there and I'm sure she would be willing to consider it."

"I don't want to take your job from you. I guess I could always find something else." I remarked thoughtfully. Before I could finish, Sam started shaking his head.

"Jared and Paul have gotten into doing construction through this one company. It's on call. They show up to the main office and if there's work available, they work for the day. It's been easier for them to patrol at night, because they're not working a full time job and the pay is pretty good. Plus, when you're ready to go back to work, my job really isn't that physically taxing."

I walked up and hugged him. "You don't have to worry about me so much, you know. I'm going to heal."

"I know," he replied, pushing my hair off my face where it had fallen forward. "But I want to take care of you, just like you've taken care of me."

"It's only been one day. It's not like I saved you. I only made you eat something." I reminded him.

"I was so close to giving up all hope. You being here _did _save me. I love you Emily Young." He said, kissing me on the lips lightly. He pulled back with a sigh. "I should probably let the guys know that I'm okay."

"And I should probably go get my things from my uncle's house…you know…if I'm gonna move in here and everything." With that, Sam gave me another kiss, more urgent this time and which left me completely breathless.

"Do you want me to go with you?" He asked when he let me up for air.

"I definitely don't think that would be a good idea," I answered. He nodded and walked over to a hook on the wall that held his keys.

"Take the truck. I don't want you walking anywhere."

"Yes sir," I jokingly replied.

He walked back over and gave my forehead a kiss before heading towards the living room and out the slider to the backyard. I followed behind him slowly. He had begun to take his clothes off but stopped when he saw me standing there.

"Em, why don't you go back in the house. I don't want to scare you."

"You won't. I want to see you phase. I _need_ to." I whispered.

He looked at me and nodded slowly before finishing undressing. Although he kept his back to me, his body took my breath away. His back was solid muscle and as I followed the line of his spine down his back, I felt my face turn red. I heard him laugh and when I looked up, he was looking at me over his shoulder.

"Who's a peeping tom?"

With that he walked over towards the woods and after a moment began to shake so hard he blurred. In what only took a second, it looked like his skin ripped away and in its place was the black fur of the werewolf. I knew I should have been afraid, because he was exactly as I remembered, but I felt nothing but curiosity.

The wolf walked towards me cautiously with his head down in an attempt to show meekness. I slowly walked away from the doorframe and met him halfway in the backyard. I lifted my right hand slowly towards Sam's head. He walked over and gently rubbed it against my palm. I touched his face with both of my hands, feeling the soft yet coarse fur beneath my fingers. I could hear what sounded like a purr, which was strange coming from a wolf. I lifted up his muzzle with one hand and stroked back the fur above his brows with the other hand. I looked into the eyes of the werewolf and could only see Sam looking back.

"I love you too, Sam Uley." It was the first time I had said it to him. He moved his head so that my hand holding his muzzle was exposed to his mouth. He gave a quick lick to my palm which made me wrinkle my nose in disgust.

"I love you Sam, but please keep the kissing for when you're in human form." I heard a funny bark come out of him which almost sounded like a laugh. He pushed his head tenderly across my palm again, before turning around and disappearing into the forest.

As I watched him go, I thought about how skinny he still looked, even in wolf form. I'd have to get some groceries while he was out doing his werewolf duties.

And I had to still face Leah.

_A/N – To the people who emailed me wondering if Sam and Emily were going to "do it" in this chapter, sorry for the teaser. I hope you weren't disappointed, but come on peeps, she just got out of the hospital…lol. _

_**Please Review!**_


	12. Choice

**Chapter 12 – Choice **

Emily's POV

The first thing I did when I got back to the main section of the reservation was head straight to the supply store. I knew as it was a Saturday morning that my uncle would be working, and I wouldn't have to face the other Clearwaters right away. As soon as I opened the door, my uncle greeted me.

"Hey there Em, how'd it go?" My uncle inquired. I walked over to him smiling.

"Well, thanks for the head's up, Uncle Harry. I really appreciate the warning," I joked, thinking about everything Sam had told me.

"Come on now, you know I couldn't say anything. So how was Sam?" He asked and I instantly sobered up.

"He was pretty bad, but I got him eating at least. He's out with Jared and Paul right now."

My uncle started to chuckle. "I knew if anyone could snap him out of it, it'd be you."

I went around the store with one of the small shopping carts and loaded the cart up with food. There wasn't a lot to offer in means of fresh food, but I was able to get some boxed foods, milk, orange juice, eggs, and some other items. Sam and I would be able to eat well for a few days, but I definitely had to make a trip to the grocery store in Forks soon. I wasn't looking forward to it as I thought about the reactions to my scars I had already received from strangers.

"This should be good for now." I said as I started to put the items on the counter, careful of my right side which was causing me slight discomfort.

My uncle was bagging up the groceries when Seth came in through the main entrance. His eyes were round as he stared from the truck that was just outside the door, to me, before he started scanning the store looking for Sam.

"Seth, take these bags out to Sam's truck for your cousin," my uncle said. Seth looked confused and looked at me with shock in his eyes but did as he was told. My uncle sighed and I looked up at him. He had dark circles under his eyes.

"Uncle Harry, are you feeling well?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me. You have bigger problems to think about. What about you and Sam?"

"Well, he asked me to move in with him…just until I'm healed. He said he'd give me the bedroom and he'd take the couch, but he wanted to keep an eye on me."

"Probably wants to reassure himself that his imprint is nearby," my uncle mumbled thoughtfully. "Well, you're 18-years-old, I'm not going to stop you, but you're going to have to tell your parents. I'll do what I can for you, let them know that Sam is our acting chief and is a respectable guy, but you may want to take Sam to Makah to meet your family.

"Ugh, I don't want Ronnie to meet Sam, he'll give him such a hard time," I muttered thinking of my obnoxious but lovable older brother as my uncle laughed. Maybe I'd call my sister-in-law Stacy in advance and tell her to bring Cora and Claire along. Ronnie wouldn't be so bad with his daughters there. I sighed as I got my money out to pay for my groceries.

"I'm insulted. You think I'm going to let you pay after what you did for the tribe," my uncle scoffed.

"I can't let you do that Uncle Harry."

"It's done. Now scoot."

"Thank you Uncle Harry…for everything." I went around the counter and hugged him with my left arm, before heading for the entrance.

"Oh and Em, I'll see what I can do about my family, you know, try to convince them that you and Sam haven't done anything wrong," he told me. I nodded sadly and walked out of the supply store.

I slowly walked over to the Clearwater house. Seth was no where to be seen. When I walked in the house, my Aunt Sue was waiting for me in the hall, a cup of coffee in her hand. Before she could say anything, I blurted out the truth.

"I'm going to stay at Sam Uley's for awhile. He's feeling responsible for what happened and wants to help me with my recovery."

"And you don't think that I can't help you, being a registered nurse and everything?" My aunt asked sarcastically.

"Well…Sam hasn't been doing so well since the accident. We're going to help each other. But we're going to have separate sleeping corridors and everything." I rambled nervously as the frown on my aunt's face became more pronounced.

"What will your parents think of you moving in with a guy who you haven't dated? At least I assume you haven't dated," my aunt added scathingly before moving on, "a guy more importantly that you have only known for a month and who was once involved with your cousin? I mean, have you really thought this through Emily?"

"I know you don't understand, but I need to do what I think is best." I answered, my face flaming with embarrassment even as my eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry I've disappointed you."

And with that I walked upstairs and quickly grabbed my items out of the bathroom before going to my room. The bag I had in the hospital was on my bed. My uncle must have brought it in for me. I opened it up with a jerk and threw my bathroom items in it. Next I took my suitcase out of the closet and started packing the rest of my clothes.

I knew my aunt was upset for her daughter, but it killed me to have her treat me like that. We had always been a close family but my love for Sam was tearing it apart. But I wouldn't leave him. Even now, with the world crashing around me I wanted nothing more than to be in Sam's arms. I heard a noise and looked up. Leah was in my doorway, watching me pack.

"So I saw Sam's truck outside. Is that what you came in?" Leah asked, watching my movements as I packed my bag.

"Yes."

"You spent the night at his house, right? That's where you were last night."

"It's not what you think Leah, he was sick. He hadn't been eating so I stayed to make sure he was okay. He's my friend."

"But you're in love with him," she said so calmly that at first I didn't think she even cared. I didn't respond to her, but the guilt was written all over my face. When she saw it, she blew up.

"I can't believe you did this to me, you of all people. You're my family, Emily. Why? Why would you do this to me?"

"I didn't have a choice Leah," I looked at her, tears flowing again. I knew that the betrayal on her face would stay with me for the rest of my life. I wanted so badly to wrap my arms around her and hug her like we used to when we were little. I wanted to tell her everything if it meant I could erase the pain off her face. But I knew that I couldn't.

"We all have a choice Emily," Leah said bitterly. "You chose wrong. Don't speak to me like we're family again."

And with that Leah stormed from the room and I heard her bedroom door slam. I grabbed my two bags, grimacing in pain from my injuries, and walked out into the hall. I looked down the hall towards Leah's room where I could hear her crying.

"I'm sorry, Leah," I whispered, knowing she wouldn't hear me.

I walked out the front door and opened the truck door, setting my bags on the passenger seat. I was about to get in when someone grabbed my hand. I looked up to see my Uncle Harry looking back at me with sad eyes.

"Do you think you should drive right now, Em?" He asked, reaching up to wipe away some of the tears pouring out of my eyes. I hadn't even realized I was crying.

"I don't think she'll ever forgive me." I whispered, looking at the house.

"She'll come around." My uncle said, pulling me in for a hug while running a soothing hand over my head. "Who knows, maybe one of the future wolves will imprint on her and then she'll understand."

I gave him a watery smile and shook my head sadly. After taking a deep breath, I got in Sam's truck and went back home.

_A/N - This is the last chapter from Emily's POV for a while. Hope you liked it. Feedback would be appreciated. Thanks. _


	13. Lost

_A/N – Be advised – Mature Content and language in this chapter. _

**Chapter 13 - Lost **

Sam's POV

The two months that Emily had been living with me had been the happiest of my life. True to my word I slept on the couch and Emily took over the bedroom. Emily had taken over my job at the tribal office and my mother had declared her to be better at it than me.

Emily teasingly never let me forget that either. But as I told her, in my defense, I was patrolling the borders all night and half dead on my feet when I did that job, while she on the other hand got a good night's sleep every night. I'd know because every time she went to sleep, thanks to my extra sensory hearing, I could hear her peaceful, even breathing, as I tossed and turned on the couch that was too small for me.

I wouldn't think of taking advantage of her though by asking to share her bed. For one reason, when I met her father he made me swear I wouldn't push Emily into anything she wasn't ready for. Her family had been told that I was an upstanding citizen by Harry, and I wanted them to believe in me. However, I still got the third degree when we went to Makah and I met her family for the first time.

Her brother had sat around glaring at me the entire time I was there and scoffed at everything I said. Her mother and sister-in-law were friendly, but cautious. Her father kept arranging for me to spend time with Emily's nieces, Cora and Claire, all the while muttering things like "are you ready for this kind of responsibility?"

Cora was three-years-old and her favorite things to say were "what's that" and "that's mine." Repeatedly. Claire was two-years-old and kept wanting me to pick her up and read stories to her. Even though I hadn't been around kids much, I had to admit they were kind of cute. In a smelly, loud sort of way.

I ended up promising Emily's dad that I wouldn't rush her into anything when he had caught me in a weak moment. He had insisted that I change Claire's poop filled diaper. The stench had made me want to gag and he wouldn't let me leave the area until I promised.

Another reason I didn't want to rush Emily into anything was because she was still recuperating from the injuries I had caused her. Sometimes when she didn't think I was looking, she would move a certain way and her face would show a revealing wince. I had made enough of a fuss about it, she finally told me if I didn't stop hovering she would move back to Makah. I gave her some space after that threat.

As it was, I found that I had to guard my reactions to other people staring at her scars while Emily and I were in public. I had to control myself when someone made a remark about her face. We went to the grocery store in Forks soon after she had moved in. While we were there, a group of teenagers made a comment about Emily's scars. I started to shake and went over to them to rip their throats out. Emily had to put a restraining hand on my arm, which calmed me immediately and I let the boys live. After seeing my face, they took off running anyway. She was truly my perfect match. While I was quick tempered, she was cool and calm.

So like I said, I was happy and couldn't have imagined a better life than the one I had with Emily since she had moved in. We spent a lot of time kissing and hugging, but nothing more than that. In the evenings, she would cook and I would clean up afterwards and we'd spending hours just laughing and talking. It was perfect.

I was also more sexually frustrated than I had ever been in my life. I began going on long runs after I got done with patrolling just to burn off some excess energy. Even when I was exhausted from patrolling and would phase back into my human form, I would go down and do as much construction work as I could get. It didn't help.

Paul and Jared were no help either. When either of them would patrol with me, they had to go through what I felt. I tried very hard not to think about sex. However, Jared had a new girlfriend, Shelley. Sometimes when he would patrol with me, moments he had spent with her would pop in his head before he could stop it, leaving me with the urge to punch a tree. I did one night when the frustration got too bad. I broke the tree and my hand, but I was healed by the time I went home.

Paul on the other hand, thought my problem was hilarious and would hum porno themed music in his head while we patrolled. I finally had to tell him that if he didn't stop, I'd rip his head off. He stopped immediately when he saw I was serious.

But I wasn't going to try anything with Emily until her rib was healed and she made some move to let me know she wanted more. After a particularly long night of patrolling, I decided that a day of manual labor was just what I needed. As I was getting ready to leave for work, I looked on the calendar that Emily had put next to the front door in the kitchen. Under the date of September 15, Emily had written "Dr. Weaver – 4 pm." Her last doctor's appointment for her rib was today and she was going to have a checkup on her shoulder.

This appointment would tell us if her rib was completely healed. So far in the past 10 weeks Emily had been healing like clockwork. Even her physical therapy was going well. This was going to be the final appointment to confirm that her rib had grown back to normal. If my job had work for me today, her uncle was going to take her in for the appointment.

I was actually a little nervous for this appointment. When I had originally asked her to move in, I had told her I wanted her to stay until she was healed. If all went as well as expected at her doctor's, she would be considered practically healed, with the exception of her shoulder which she still had four months of physical therapy on.

I couldn't bear the thought of her moving out now, and I was going to beg and plead if I had to, to get her to stay permanently. I had planned to bring it up tonight after work. I went to work with these plans in mind. Unfortunately, the construction job today took longer than I planned and I ended up working until 10 pm. I raced home and was greeted by Emily pulling spaghetti out of the oven where it had been warming.

I put my lunch pail on the counter and quickly walked over to her, kissing her jaw line and then her lips. I always felt bad when I didn't go with her to one of her appointments, but Emily had insisted before that I didn't need to attend every checkup with her, and if I had a chance to work I should.

"So how did the doctor's appointment go today?" I asked, while holding her close to me.

Emily opened her mouth to tell me just as the phone rang. I smiled apologetically at her and answered the phone. I felt myself frown as I listened to the frantic voice.

"Billy slow down, I can't understand what you're saying." I told him and listened to him repeat himself at a slower pace. My body immediately stiffened as I heard what he was telling me.

"I'll get the guys together and start looking. Don't worry Billy, we'll find her." I hung the phone up and looked over at Emily. "Chief Swan's daughter Bella is missing. She left him a note saying that she was going for a walk in the woods with Edward Cullen and she hasn't been seen since."

Emily knew immediately what that meant. "Please be careful Sam."

"I'll be back before you know it." I replied reaching out to kiss her scarred cheek before giving her another swift kiss on the lips.

I opened the slider to the backyard and ran out, stripping off my clothes quickly. I took some sweats and threw a tiny flashlight in the pant leg, before rolling up the pants and tying them to my leg with a leather band. I phased and as soon as I was far enough away from the house I howled and felt shimmers in the air as Paul and Jared also phased.

"What's going on Sam?" Jared questioned. I replayed what Billy had told me.

"She was the one dating that bloodsucker, right?" Paul asked. He instantly thought of what we might find and a part of him was eager for a fight with the Cullens if we found the girl dead.

"Let's focus on trying to find her before we consider any actions," I ordered.

We split up, Jared and Paul going to woods near our border. I headed towards Forks. As I got closer to town taking the back trails as I went, I began to pick up the very strong stench of vampire. The sickly sweet scent made my nose burn. As I continued to follow the smell I soon picked up another scent. It was human.

"Are you getting close?" Paul asked.

"I'm not sure yet. You guys finding anything."

"Not yet," Paul answered.

"Just picking up some faded bloodsucker's scent. The smell isn't too close to the border though," Jared replied.

They were patrolling in an area that was close to the Cullen property. We figured that there was a chance he might have taken her there. I reminded them to be careful and to keep their eyes open. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of either of them being that close to the bloodsuckers without me being there.

"Dude, no worries, we can handle those stinkin leeches." Jared stated.

"Just be careful," I ordered. I suddenly picked up a very strong human scent. It was far off the main hiking trail but I quickly followed it. In the distance I saw a body lying on the ground.

"I think I found her guys. I'm going to phase. Head to the Swan house."

I phased and untied the sweatpants from my leg, taking the flashlight out of the pant leg, before pulling on my sweats. As I walked slowly towards her, I felt dread rush through my body as I realized that she wasn't moving. She reminded me so much of Emily after I had attacked her and I felt my heart turn painfully. When I flashed the light over her face, I saw her flinch and sighed in relief. At least she was alive although she looked like she had been drained of blood she was so pale.

"Bella," I said while standing over her and saw her head turn up at me. "Have you been hurt?"

There was no response.

"Bella, my name is Sam Uley. Charlie sent me to look for you." I explained, but there was still no movement, just a blink of her blank eyes. I held out my hand to her, but she didn't move. After analyzing the situation for a minute longer, I shrugged and reached over and picked her up in my arms. I began walking quickly back towards Forks.

"He's gone…he's gone." She kept repeating incoherently.

I frowned, trying in vain to assess the situation. I could hear people yelling her name in the distance and I picked up the pace. As soon as I saw the lights of houses through the trees, I yelled that I had her. Several people came running over towards us, including Jared and Paul.

"Is she hurt?" Jared asked.

"No, I don't think she's hurt, she just keeps saying, 'he's gone.'"

"Bella, honey, are you all right?" I recognized Chief Swan as he immediately ran over to me.

"Charlie?" The girl asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"I'm right here, baby." The chief responded, before reaching out to take her from my arms. He stumbled under the weight.

"Maybe I should hold onto her," I said, worried that he would drop her.

"I've got her," her father replied.

We walked back to the house, a crowd of searchers gathering as we walked. The chief took her to the house and I immediately rushed ahead to open the door for him, keeping close in case he dropped her. It was at the house that we found out that the Cullens had left the area under the pretense that the doctor had received a job offer in the LA area.

When we heard this, Jared, Paul, and I exchanged looks. The Cullens had left the area? Excitement raced down my spine at the same time that I felt sharp pain when I looked at the girl. She seemed to be in shock and if it weren't for the fact that I could see her trembling, I would have thought she was dead, she was so pale and listless. She seemed to be drifting in and out of consciousness when her father came over to shake our hands and thank us for the help. We took that as our cue and left. We walked quickly back into the woods and phased.

"Holy shift, the bloodsuckers are gone!" Paul practically shouted.

"We have to party it up tonight," Jared said. They started to make plans and talked about having a big bonfire when they got back. All I wanted to see was Emily.

"Ah c'mon man, you have to hang out tonight." Jared begged. Immediately an image of Bella flashed through my mind and I compared it to what Emily had looked like when she had been injured. It instantly sobered Jared and Paul.

"She really did look bad, didn't she?" Jared said, more as a statement.

"You think she'll be ok?" Paul asked, unnaturally sensitive.

"I guess time will tell." I told them. We soon reached La Push. Paul headed towards the cliff to get the bonfire going, while Jared went home to call as many friends as he could. I went straight to my house and quickly phased to human form. Emily was sitting on the couch when I walked in, her hands clasped together. As soon as she saw me, she jumped up and ran over to me, hugging me close.

"Sam, I was so worried."

"It's okay, we're all fine."

"Did you find Bella? Is she okay?" Emily asked.

"We found her. She didn't look too good, but she wasn't hurt or anything. The Cullens have left the area." I told her. Something in my voice must have triggered that something was wrong. She reached up and rubbed her thumb across the frown line on my forehead.

"You okay?" She wondered.

"I'm just glad she was all right." I told her, holding her tighter as memory of Emily lying injured at my feet flashed over and over in my mind. "Hey, I didn't get a chance to ask. How'd the appointment go today?"

"It went really well. The doctor said my rib is completely healed and my arm is doing well. Did you want to eat?" She questioned as I continued to stare.

I shook my head and reached over to brush the hair back from her face. I gently bent down to kiss her neck, then up to her jaw line, before traveling over to her lips, kissing the scar there. I kissed her lips, parting them with my tongue. Her tongue reached out to caress mine. I pressed her body closer to me, putting my hand on her neck, letting it slowly travel down to her breast.

Emily froze and stepped back. I was about to apologize when she reached down and pulled her shirt off her head. She took her bra off and pressed herself against my naked chest. I shuddered and lifted her off her feet, carrying her into the bedroom.

_**A/N – Please Review!**_


	14. Interupption

_A/N – Be advised – Adult Content in this chapter. _

**Chapter 14 – Interruption**

Sam's POV

The early morning light woke me up. I rolled on my side and looked at the woman beside me. She was on her stomach with her head towards me, her scarred side facing up. She never looked more beautiful to me than she did in that moment.

I heard birds singing outside and chuckled quietly, rolling on my back and putting my hands behind my head. The whole world seemed to be singing. God, I was turning into a sap. But hell, I felt like singing myself I was so happy. My body tingled all over as I remembered the night before. Everything had been so incredible. I heard a soft laugh and looked over to see Emily's dancing eyes looking back at me.

"Well, you're looking pretty pleased with yourself." Emily said, smiling widely.

"I am pleased. Last night was great." I replied, rolling over on my side again. "What about for you?"

"It was fine," she answered, before putting her head into the pillow, giggling.

"Fine…Fine!" I growled, before grabbing her and rolling her on her back so that I could lean over her.

"Alright, it was wonderful, stupendous, magnificent. Is that good enough?"

"Better, much better." I laughed, then looked down at her flushed face and asked, "It wasn't too hot for you, was it?"

Emily's eyes widened in disbelief and I quickly explained what I meant.

"I mean, with my body temperature being what it is, it wasn't uncomfortable or anything, was it?"

"It was perfect," she whispered, reaching up to grab my neck, bringing my mouth down to her lips.

I gently pressed my body against hers, my mouth briefly touching her lips, before moving down to nibble on her neck. She threw her head back and I felt one of her legs begin to wrap around my thigh.

"Sam?" A male voice called out.

I jumped and Emily looked back at me with horror dawning in her eyes.

"Sam" It was Jared. I sighed as I leaned down next to Emily so that my forehead was on the pillow next to her ear.

"I can't believe this," I whispered and she giggled.

Just then, Jared burst into the room. Emily shrieked and quickly drew the sheet over her head as I jerked away from her. If it weren't for the fact that I was naked and not in the position to jump out of bed, I would have cheerfully throttled Jared.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" I yelled. Jared looked at me and blinked. He looked like he was on something. I frowned and asked, "Are you high?"

It took him a moment to focus on my face, before shaking his head as though he were trying to snap out of whatever was wrong with him.

"I don't know what happened to me. I broke up with Shelley last night at the bonfire. She got really drunk and started making out with this guy. I told her we were through and I moved to the bonfire down at the beach and that was when I saw _her_ and Sam, I think I'm in love."

"Jared, you're in love with a new girl every week," I replied sarcastically and heard a snicker from beneath the sheet next to me. So did Jared, who frowned in that direction. It was in that moment that Emily poked her head out to see Jared before covering herself again.

"Oh…hey Emily." Jared said, still looking bewildered.

"Hi Jared," came the muffled response.

"Look, why don't you go into the living room and I'll be out in a minute." I instructed.

"Okay…I hope you practiced safe sex," Jared said, slowly walking out of the room. I leaned over on the side of the bed and grabbed my shoe, throwing it at his retreating back. It made a satisfying crack as it made impact.

"Of course we did, now get the hell out of here and shut the door."

"Okay, okay, I'm going." Jared replied, rubbing his shoulder where the shoe hit, before shutting the door behind him. Emily removed her cover and looked at me in horror.

"Well, he would have known if we practiced safe sex or not without me telling him verbally." I said defensively.

"Ugh, the whole pack is going to know what happened." Emily groaned throwing the sheet over her head again.

"It serves them right too. After all the crap they've given me over the past two months while I've been completely sexually frustrated," I said and heard a soft laugh in response.

I reached over and pulled the sheet from her embarrassed face. "I promise I'll try very hard not to think about last night when I'm with the pack."

She leaned up and kissed me, before climbing out of the bed to wrap herself in her robe.

"I'll make some pancakes. You deal with Jared."

"Going by the stupid look on his face, I'd say he imprinted." I mumbled while reaching for some shorts. "Thank God I didn't act like a moron when I imprinted."

I said it loudly so that it would shout in Jared's sensitive ears. Emily snorted. I ran over to her and picked her up, kissing her hard on the mouth. By the time we parted, we were both breathless.

"I'll get the pancakes going, you take care of him." Emily said, moving her head in the direction of the living room. I let her down and she opened the door and walked out.

"Jared, do you want pancakes?" Emily asked as she walked into the hallway.

"Thanks Emily, that'd be great."

I followed her out and went into the living room. Jared was standing in the middle of the room staring into space.

"All right," I said, "Let's have it."

"Her name is Kim. I had a couple of classes with her last year. I never even looked at her until last night and then when I did, the world seemed to suddenly revolve around her. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, you imprinted. Congratulations." I said dryly.

"Oh…oh yeah, I remember you told me about that, but you said it was rare." He looked dumbfounded.

"Hmm, two out of the three of us. I wonder how accurate the legend of imprinting really is." I wondered aloud.

Suddenly the smell of pancakes hit us and we both headed towards the kitchen. Emily was just putting the pancakes on the table when we walked in. We sat down and began to eat. Both Jared and I finished off most of the meal within a couple of minutes.

"So Jared, tell us about this girl." Emily said as we lingered over coffee.

"Kim is beautiful and wonderful. We stayed up all night talking at the beach and we watched the sunrise before the clouds came in and it started to rain. And then I walked her home. Aww crap, I didn't ask her out," Jared finished with a groan. Emily reached over and patted him on the hand reassuringly.

"I'm sure if you ask her out, she'll say yes," Emily said. "After all, it's tough to resist your imprint, no matter how much you might try."

I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. Her shoulders started to shake with silent laughter. Just then the phone rang and Emily got up to answer it. I was talking to Jared about ways for him to ask Kim out, all the while keeping an eye on Emily. Something in the way her shoulders dropped made me turn my head and stop speaking mid-flow. I immediately jumped up from the table and put my arms around her.

"What's wrong?" I asked, rubbing a hand soothingly down her back.

"That was Harry. He told me he's been having some discomfort in his chest so he's going to see his doctor today. He said not to worry, but he wanted to let me know."

"I'm sure he'll be okay," I said, hugging her close.

But I thought about how Harry had been looking lately and I was worried too. He always seemed so exhausted and he sometimes seemed to have trouble catching his breath. Harry and Emily were extremely close, and I had begun to rely on Harry's counsel and presence. I didn't want to ask for trouble by thinking negative, but in the back of my mind I heard a little voice say, _What would we do without Harry?_

_**A/N – Please Review**_


	15. Problem

**Chapter 15 – Problem**

Sam's POV

"I'm fine," Harry insisted, as Emily sat next to him on the couch holding his hand. "The doctor said my heart beat is a little irregular so he put be on some medication. I have to also work on reducing my cholesterol and stress level. It's no big deal. Now, I didn't ask you over here so that you would fuss."

Emily and I had gone over to the Clearwater house. Harry had requested our presence and to reduce his stress, Sue had called us begrudgingly. I know it pained Emily to be distant from her family, but given Harry's determination to have us in his life, we were hoping that the situation would ease. Sue was in the kitchen getting decaffeinated tea. Caffeine was out for Harry. Seth had greeted us stiffly when we first came in and then disappeared upstairs to his room. Leah was no where to be seen, most likely working in the store.

"Sam, there's a guy from Makah trying to sell meth to some of the kids here. He's a big guy, kind of sticks out. Leah caught him harassing some kids near the supply store and threatened him with the police if he didn't leave the property. He wasn't too happy about that."

"We'll take care of him," I assured Harry.

"Just be careful all right. Drug dealers are dangerous when crossed."

"Hey, it's our job as protectors to run pigs like this guy off our land. Don't stress yourself Harry, we're on it." I promised.

I heard a subtle noise in the hallway and looked up. Leah stood in the doorframe, half hidden, surprise on her face. When she saw me looking, she gave me a glare that would have melted ice. She quickly turned and went back in the direction she came from. A few seconds later, I heard the front door open and close softly.

Sue walked back in the room with a tray of tea and passed mugs to everyone. Sue hovered over Harry for a moment, adjusting the blanket that was over his legs. He finally had to mutter, "I'm fine woman" before she settled stiffly into the chair closest to the couch.

Emily and Harry began a discussion about Emily's nieces. We all tried to relax as much as we could, but the tension was thick. When Emily received a monosyllable response from her aunt to a question she had asked, I told her it was time to leave. Emily eagerly agreed, jumping up to kiss her uncle goodbye.

"Don't worry Harry, if anyone comes around here again and bothers Leah or Seth, or anyone else, give me a call and we'll take care of it." I said as I leaned over to touch his shoulder reassuringly.

Sue had a confused look on her face, but her expression softened slightly over my statement. Emily and I left the house and hopped in my truck. We did some errands in Forks and headed home.

"Well, it's a beautiful Saturday afternoon and the sun is actually out for once. What should we do with the rest of our day?" Emily asked, smirking at me.

"Hmm…well, it'd be a shame to waste a sunny day, wouldn't it?" I responded.

"Definitely, she replied.

I pulled into our driveway. We got out of the truck and walked hand and hand towards the house. She looked over at me, the sunlight sparkling in her black hair and that's all it took. I reached for her the same time she reached for me. She grabbed my face pulling it down to hers. I reached for her hips pulling her close.

She blindly reached for the door handle and we both stumbled into the house, laughing as we went in. The door shut behind us, and I pushed Emily against the door. I quickly stripped off my t-shirt. Somewhere in the distance, I heard the phone ring.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" I mumbled against Emily's neck. The phone persisted and I reached over to pick it up.

"Hello?" I said gruffly, distracted by the fact that Emily was now standing on tiptoe kissing me along my collarbone.

"Sam?" An unsure voice asked. I frowned.

"Leah?" I asked. Emily stopped kissing and stepped away from me. I reached out and grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back against me.

"Yeah, I didn't want to call you, but my father told me if that drug dealer ever came back around we should give you a call." She didn't sound happy about it either.

"Where is he right now?" I questioned.

"I'm at the store right now. The guy's standing outside. Jacob Black and some of his friends are in here with me. I think he's waiting for them to leave."

"Okay, keep Jacob and his friends in there as long as you can. I'll be right over." I told her and hung up when she agreed.

"I gotta get the guys and head back to the supply store. That dealer is hanging around giving Leah a problem."

"Okay," Emily said, worry in her eyes. "Please be careful and please, please don't let anything happen to my family."

I reached over and kissed her forehead. "I'll be right back."

I ran outside, quickly stripping my pants off and tying them to my leg. I phased and let out a howl as I ran. Jared and Paul soon phased too.

"There's some trouble at the supply store," I explained to them and showed them the conversation I had had with Harry and Leah. We quickly ran towards the center of the rez and phased back as soon as we got close to the edge of the forest.

We walked towards the store and I saw who Harry was talking about immediately. A tall bulky man with greasy blond hair pulled back in a ponytail stood outside the store smoking a cigarette. He kept peeking in the screen door of the store to look at Leah behind the counter. I went up to the man with Jared and Paul flanking both of my sides.

"Can I help you with something?" The man sneered, blowing smoke in my face. He didn't seem fazed by the three of us as we stood towering over him. Stupid bastard.

"I hear your selling some meth?" I asked and watched the man's eyes reassess me.

"You want some?" The man questioned.

"Why don't we go around the back of the store where it's not so public?"

"Yeah, sure…why not." The man said looking from me, to Jared and Paul, before glancing in the door towards Leah.

"That's a pretty good looking woman there, huh?" Paul asked as we walked, barely keeping the disgust out of his voice. The man didn't seem to take notice.

"Oh yeah…I'm definitely gonna hit that later." The man leered.

I began to shake and felt the warning heat shoot down my spine. I was so angry I was surprised I didn't phase right there. No wonder Leah didn't hesitate to call me. The man must have been creeping her out. The idea of this man hurting anyone in Emily's family, least of all my former best friend filled me with a fury I could barely contain. I felt Jared put a hand on my shoulder in warning.

We walked to the back of the store where we were no longer visible. As soon as I knew no one could see us, I threw the man against the side of the building.

"You son of a bitch!" The man yelled, punching me as hard as he could.

It barely registered on me. I heard a resounding crack and watched as he quickly pulled his hand into his body, yowling in pain. I watched for a moment with detached interest as his hand immediately began to swell and turn purple. The man began to swear profusely. I lunged at him, forcing him against the building again as I pressed my forearm against his throat. He stopped swearing, most likely from the lack of air.

"You still thinking about touching that girl?" I asked casually. His eyes glinted in anger and he made an obnoxious kissing noise with his lips. I pressed harder against his throat and watched his eyes bulge and his face turn purple.

"Dude, you're going to kill him," Jared warned me, but I didn't let up.

"I want you to listen to me very carefully," I told the man. "This is our land and we protect our land from pigs like you. If I hear of you coming here again…if you so much as think about bringing drugs here or having any contact with that girl in there, I will personally guarantee that you won't leave here alive. Do you understand?"

I pressed just a tiny bit harder and watched as the man's eyes began to roll in his head. I let up and the man nodded in response. As soon as he did, I let him go and watched him collapse on the ground.

"My friends here will escort you off the reservation." I told him disdainfully. Paul and Jared each grabbed an arm and walked him up to the front of the store where his car was.

"Keys?" I heard Paul ask. The man handed them over feebly. Paul got in the front of the car. Jared pushed the man in the back and sat next to him, never taking his eyes off him.

"Take him to the border and report back." I told them. I looked over at the man. "By the way, I know people in Makah. If I find out that you're selling your crap there, we'll know and we'll make sure to pay you a visit. Understand?"

The man nodded weakly, holding his broken hand to his chest. I could see bruises forming on his neck. I stood up and rapt on the top of the car twice. Paul backed the car up and they took off.

I turned around to find Jacob Black and his friends staring at me with open mouths. I assessed them carefully and noticed that Jacob and his friend Embry seemed a lot taller than the last time I saw them. They looked back at me briefly before quickly walking away. I went into the store and walked over to Leah. She looked at me for a moment then quickly looked down.

"He shouldn't bother you again." I assured her. She nodded, not even looking at me. I sighed and turned to leave.

"Sam?"

I turned around to look at her. She had tears in her eyes. I could see her clearly and knew she must have been in great pain. She looked back at me and then shook her head, turning so that I wouldn't see the tears falling. It hurt that I had caused her this much pain, and I felt the familiar guilt wash over me whenever I thought of Leah.

"I'm sorry Leah," I said softly before heading out the door. I ran quickly to the forest and as soon as I was out of sight, I phased. Jared and Paul had already phased and were headed back towards me.

"How'd it go?" I asked.

"Well, I think he's going to need new underwear, but other than that he should be fine. He took off as soon as we got out of the car." Jared snickered.

"Yeah, didn't even say thanks for the ride or anything?" Paul said sarcastically.

"Good job guys." I told them. My mind briefly went over the difference in Jacob and Embry since I last saw them.

"You think they're going to change?" Paul asked.

"I don't know. I did notice some differences, but we should know in a few more months." I said.

We split up and I went home. I could hear Emily making lunch in the kitchen when I walked into the living room.

"Well, did you get rid of him?" She asked as I came into the kitchen.

"Yeah, it was no problem." I told her, reaching over to kiss the scars on her cheek. I kissed each scar in turn.

"Did you see Leah?" Emily asked, not meeting my eyes.

"I saw her," I answered.

"How was she?" She questioned, still not looking at me.

"She was scared. That creep kept staring at her, and I think it was freaking her out."

"Well, I'm glad she's okay."

I finally turned her head and made her look at me.

"You're not jealous or anything, are you?"

"No, I just hate knowing that she's in pain while I'm so happy." Emily sighed, putting her head against my chest.

"I know. I hate knowing that I hurt her. She didn't deserve it." I said, hugging her close. Emily looked at me briefly, before looking away quickly.

"Okay fine, a small part of me is jealous. You loved her for so long. She was yours first." Emily admitted, shame making her blush.

"I did love her, but it's not one-tenth of what I feel for you. I care about Leah, I always will. But never doubt what I feel for you. We're bonded in a way that nothing and no one can ever break."

I looked deep into her eyes and saw the conflict slowly drain from her face. I leaned in and kissed her mouth before picking her up in my arms, carrying her out of the room. We didn't remember lunch until much later.

_**A/N – Please Review**_


	16. Discovery

**Chapter 16 – Discovery**

Sam's POV

I heard the beating sound of sleet against the bedroom window. It was mid-January and the weather was more miserable than ever. I opened my eyes and stared at the bedroom ceiling. I looked over and saw Emily sleeping soundly on her side of the bed, her hand stretched out to rest on the corner of my pillow.

As much as I wanted to hold Emily through the night, my body temperature wouldn't allow it. I would hold her until she got uncomfortable and then she would move to her side of the bed and I would move to mine. I rolled over so that I could stare at her from a more comfortable angle.

Emily had gone in for her final physical therapy appointment yesterday. She had progressed at an incredible speed in the six months since the attack and her arm had healed completely. Well, not completely, she would always have slight pain when the weather turned too terrible, but it was livable. Luckily for her, I was her own personal heating pad and whenever her shoulder ached, I would massage it for her, the heat of my hand soothing her. I leaned over and kissed the drooping scar at the corner of her mouth. Her eyes flew open.

"Hey," she said, reaching up to run her palm over my cheek.

I could only stare at her. She was so beautiful. I pushed her hair off her face and moved over to her side of the bed, putting my arm around her back and pulling her close.

"Marry me." I blurted out.

This wasn't the way I had planned it to go, and I cursed myself for my impatience. I had planned a romantic evening out to celebrate the end of her physical therapy. I was going to take her to dinner at some fancy restaurant and then propose. I wanted to make it special and memorable and I just ruined it. What made me even more worried was that Emily hadn't moved or responded yet. She was just staring at me blankly.

"So…what do you say?" I asked nervously.

"Am I awake?" She wondered, confusion in her voice.

"Either that or we're both dreaming."

"You want to marry me?" Emily asked. I looked at her and smiled.

"I want to marry you more than I've ever wanted anything in my life. You're my whole world, Em. Please say you'll marry me."

Emily looked at me for a moment, before her eyes began to fill with tears.

"Yes," she whispered before shouting, "Yes!"

She rolled me on my back and proceeded to kiss my mouth with a vengeance. I chuckled pulling her in close. I felt a sudden shimmer in the air. I had to gently push Emily away, much to her surprise and my disappointment. I heard a howl in the distance but didn't recognize it.

"Something's off. I'd better go see what's going on." I sighed, pulling her in for a quick kiss on the scarred side of her jaw. I ran out to the backyard and phased.

"What the hell is going on?" A panicked voice yelled. Embry!

"Embry, this is Sam, you're okay, just keep calm." I began to run in the direction that I knew he was in.

Jared and Paul had also phased and were running in the same direction. I ran into a clearing up ahead. We were deep in the forest. I came upon a gray wolf with dark spots on his back. Paul and Jared soon joined us.

I quickly ran through the legends and showed him everything I knew. It helped Embry to calm down slightly. We all started heading back to my house. I had Jared and Paul phase so that Embry would know how it was done. He was able to calm down enough to phase back. We walked into the house through the backyard, and I grabbed some pants from my room and gave it to him. Emily came into the living room and asked us if we wanted breakfast.

"That'd be great, thanks Em." I told her after reaching out to touch her back.

Being able to physically touch Emily, even if it was just to hold her hand, always made me feel so much better. Contact with my imprint took away any remnants of anger I might have from phasing.

"Embry, we need to think about what we're going to do about this situation. You phased a lot younger than the rest of us, and you still have school to deal with."

"What about Jacob and Quil? They're my best friends."

I sighed, hating what I was about to say, knowing that it would cause pain to one of my brothers.

"You have to distance yourself from them, for their safety. If you were to lose your temper around them, it could bring on a really bad situation. And you can't tell them anything, that's really important, Embry. In fact, I'll have the Elders talk to your mother about having you stay home from school for a couple of weeks. We need to make sure you have some type of control before you interact with anyone."

We went into the kitchen. Paul quickly reached down for the toast that was on the table. Emily smacked his hand out of the way and told him to wait for his brothers to join him. I chuckled as Embry and I walked over to the table. The table was in the middle of the kitchen and we all crowded around it. Emily sat down next to me and began to eat.

"So did I hear you right, Sam? Did you and Emily get engaged?" Jared asked. I hadn't realized I'd been thinking about it, but I had been so excited they must have felt the reason why.

"Yeah," I responded, smiling like an idiot. Emily just laughed.

"Hey congratulations man," Paul said, punching me in the arm.

Jared jumped up from the table and went around to hug Emily. Embry still had a shocked look about him. He went to reach down for some bacon that was on the table and his knotted hair fell in his face.

"Ugh," he said trying to pull a dead leaf out of his hair. He looked at Paul, Jared, and me, and sighed.

"I guess I understand why you guys have your hair cut so short."

"Sam, can cut your hair if you want." Jared told him.

"Yeah that's me, the resident barber," I laughed.

After breakfast, I took Embry into the bathroom to cut his hair while Paul and Jared did the dishes. I ended up trimming his hair into the cropped hairstyle we all had.

Later that evening the four of us went out to patrol the area. We showed Embry what we did and how we patrolled the borders. I could sense that he was sad about not being able to have contact with Jacob or Quil.

"We suspect that Jacob may be on his way to turning too. If you turned so young, it may only be a matter of weeks before he turns as well." I told him, trying to comfort him all the while feeling sad that another boy would soon have his life uprooted.

"Don't feel bad Sam. I kind of like the idea of being able to protect the tribe. Like you guys did with that drug dealer." Embry said.

I was about to respond when something caught my attention. I could smell the sickly scent of vampire. Instantly the hair on the back of my neck stood up. All of us broke out into ferocious growls. The scent was fresh and right along the border.

"Is it a Cullen?" Paul asked furiously.

"What would a Cullen be doing this close to the border?" Jared asked.

Instantly a vision popped in all of our heads. Embry was thinking about a recent visit he had with Jacob Black at Jacob's garage. Jacob had been working on a couple of broken down motorcycles with Bella Swan. Bella had looked terrible.

"I don't think this is a Cullen." I said before adding, "I wonder if this is what triggered you to change today Embry. Maybe the fact that a vampire was in the area might have been what finally pushed your blood into making the transformation."

We speculated on that as we followed the scent all the way to a campsite. We soon could smell the strong scent of human but there was no one to be found.

A little farther north the scent of human and vampire combined. We picked up speed but lost the scent at a river. Paul found dots of blood on a leaf, but we couldn't find the missing camper. Feeling disgruntled, we headed for home.

_**A/N – Please Review**_


	17. Secrets

**Chapter 17 -Secrets**

Sam's POV

"Up?" Emily's niece Claire lifted her arms up to me, a sweet smile on her innocent face.

I sighed as I reached down to pick the toddler up. I swung her around which made her squeal with laughter. Truth be told, I was exhausted. In the past week since the camper disappeared, the stench of bloodsucker had begun to appear all over the forest surrounding Forks.

The entire pack had begun patrolling together at night. We were also doing shifts during the day. If anyone caught a fresh scent they'd howl, and we'd race out and hunt together. It was getting increasingly frustrating though as we always seemed to just miss the elusive vampire.

I put Claire down and sat wearily in my favorite living room chair. Claire's older sister Cora was laying on her stomach on the floor watching _Sesame Street_, her legs swinging in time with the music. Claire was busy using me as her own personal jungle gym, grabbing my arm and trying to climb it.

Upon learning of our engagement, Emily's father Roger decided it would be the perfect time to send his two grandchildren down to La Push for a visit. He wanted Emily and I to have an idea of what family life was going to be like. So Emily and I got to watch the kids for a week while Emily's brother and sister-in-law got to go on a second honeymoon. I couldn't help but think it was bad timing on Roger's part.

It wasn't that I didn't like having the girls down. It was just that there was so much going on right now. Aside from the fact that a vampire was hunting around the reservation, I also kept waiting for Jacob Black to phase. The few times he caught me staring at him, his hands would begin to shake badly. I had also begun to suspect others would phase as well.

Jacob's friend Quil seemed to be getting bulkier, much to Old Quil's delight. Surprisingly, so did Seth Clearwater, who suddenly seemed to have grown half a foot in a week's span. He was also starting to change in the face and no longer looked remotely close to his age of 15.

Oddly enough, Leah had also started to look different. There was a change in her face and she seemed slightly taller. I had put the changes in her face down to stress. Whenever I saw her anymore, she always seemed to be out jogging on the beach, which may have to contributed to why she also seemed more muscular. If I didn't know any better though, I would have thought she was about to join the brotherhood.

It confused me at first as to why the boys were beginning to rapidly change. The Cullens had been gone for almost four months now. Although their living in the area for a couple of years may have started the process, it didn't explain why the boys were all of a sudden rapidly changing. But I had a theory.

I had begun to suspect that a vampire's sudden appearance in the area was what triggered the last stages. The Cullens were still here when Jared, Paul, and I had changed. The new vampire appeared the same day Embry changed. I suspected that the elusive vampire continuously coming to the area had triggered the magic in the other boys' blood, causing them to abruptly begin the final stages of the process.

It saddened me when I thought about what the unsuspecting boys had in store for them. I could only hope that Seth was just at the age where he was hitting a normal growth spurt, and he wasn't cursed like the rest of us. Harry had enough on his plate already without worrying about his son turning into a wolf.

Harry had told me that he thought it was best to keep my engagement to Emily a secret from his family until it got closer to the wedding date…for Leah's sake. He was worried that if he told Sue, she might let something slip to Leah. If Seth knew, he would definitely blab to Leah. And as for Leah, she was still hurting too much and Harry wanted to give her more time to heal.

I pressed my fingers to the bridge of my nose trying to relieve some of the tension I felt. I heard a soft chuckle come from the hallway and looked up. Emily was leaning against the hall wall, her arms crossed over her chest.

"You look like you're about to explode," she said, walking over to me to sit on the arm of my chair. I put my arm around her waist and leaned against her tiredly.

"I guess this wasn't the greatest timing on my dad's part," Emily sighed, "I didn't know how to tell him that you were out hunting a vampire at night and wouldn't be able to appreciate the lesson he's trying to teach us. And I couldn't tell him that it wasn't the best time to bring the girls to this area without an explanation. Sometimes these secrets of ours are a hindrance."

"You know I won't let anything happen to the girls," I told her reassuringly.

"Sam, if I thought for one moment that the girls were in danger in anyway, I wouldn't let them come here no matter what my father said." She leaned down and kissed the top of my head before continuing, "Look, why don't you call the boys and get out of the house for a while…blow off some steam. Harry called and said he wanted to spend some time with his great nieces while they're here, so I think I'll take them over there to see him."

I opened my mouth to tell her I'd go with her, but she quickly shook her head and pulled Claire off my legs which Claire had been using as a slide. She picked the toddler up and held her over her head, much to Claire's squeal of delight.

"Why don't you and I go change your diaper and you, your sister, and I will go see Uncle Harry, what do you think?

"Yay Unca Harwy," Claire yelled, clapping her hands enthusiastically.

"Go Sam," Emily insisted as she cuddled Claire close and headed towards the bedroom. I slowly picked up the phone and dialed Jared's number while keeping an eye on Cora.

"Hello?" Jared mumbled. I looked at the clock. It was noon, which meant I woke Jared up after only five hours of sleep.

"It's Sam. Sorry to wake you, but I was thinking we needed a teambuilding exercise," I snickered as I thought about the term our employer at the construction company was always throwing at us. We couldn't be anymore of a team if we tried.

A few hours later, the entire pack had pulled their butts out of bed, and we were standing on the edge of a cliff. It was a favorite spot in La Push to go cliff diving. Of course, most of the kids didn't jump from the height that we were jumping from. And they especially didn't jump at the end of the month of January when the weather was cold. But to the pack, it was a relief to feel the icy wind on our overheated skin. The water below would feel like bathwater.

I heard a pickup truck driving on the road behind us, but I didn't care. I looked at the turbulent water below and jumped off the edge, loving the feeling of freefalling. I hit the water and sank deeply below. The current was strong, but it made me just want to laugh. It wasn't even a challenge. I quickly kicked out and pushed to the top, my head breaking the surface moments later.

Emily was right as usual. She could read me like a book. I needed this. I needed to spend this time with my brothers just relaxing and having fun. I climbed onto the rocks and made my way to a trail which took me back to the top of the cliff. I heard Paul arguing with Jared and Embry. The good mood faded a little. One of these days Paul and his temper were going to get him in trouble.

"What's going on?" I demanded.

"Do you know what that punk thinks?" Paul seethed, pointing in the direction of Jacob Black. I could see him in the distance standing next to an old Chevy pickup truck unloading motorcycles. He was lifting them as though they were as light as paper. Interesting. I also noticed Bella Swan with him.

Paul continued, "That punk thinks that we're a cult. Here we are staying up all night to protect his ass, and he thinks we're a friggin cult."

"Dude, you're making an ass of yourself," Jared said, looking embarrassed.

"I'm sorry I even said anything," Embry spoke up, looking ashamed.

"Relax Paul," I instructed. "Jacob will soon know what's going on, all right? Once upon a time you and Jared thought I was a drug user. Jacob doesn't understand right now, but he soon will."

"Yeah, relax man," Jared said and reached over and pushed Paul off the cliff.

A few seconds later we heard a splash. Moments later we heard the sound of someone swearing profusely. Jared let out a scream and jumped off the cliff. In the distance we heard a motorcycle start up. Embry and I looked over to see Jacob talking to Bella as she sat on her bike. I could see the sadness in Embry's eyes and put an arm around his shoulder.

"Give it time. And don't worry about Paul. You'll get used to his temper." I assured him. Embry smiled sadly then looked out onto the ocean. A smile broke out on his face a second before he jumped off the cliff.

I looked back at the motorcyclists. It was strange that even from this distance I could see Bella Swan clearly. She looked thinner than the last time I had seen her, and it looked like she hadn't been outdoors in years she was so pale. Her paleness was emphasized by dark circles under her eyes. She looked skeletal.

It was ironic that ever since I imprinted, most women were always slightly out of focus, but Bella Swan was always so clear to me. From the first time I found her practically comatose in the forest until now. I wondered at the level of pain she was in, knowing that she had to be constantly hurting for me to see her so well. Could the bloodsucker she had been involved with be the reason for so much pain? Jared and Paul climbed back up the path, both laughing hard at something Jared had said.

"Jared, come here for a minute." I said, motioning for him to stand next to me. When he came over to where I was standing, I asked, "Can you see Bella Swan clearly, or is it just me?"

"No, I can see her," Jared answered. "That's weird, I haven't been able to see any woman that well since I imprinted on Kim."

Embry soon joined us at the top and we watched as Bella crashed her bike, skidding across the ground.

"Should we go help?" Embry questioned. It wasn't in our nature to not help someone who was injured.

"I think Jacob's got this one," I replied.

I watched with interest as Jacob jumped off his bike and ran to Bella with unnatural speed and lifted her bike off of her like it was a feather. He took off his shirt and put it against her forehead. I could see that his muscles were as big as the rest of ours.

Jacob quickly got back on his bike and raced it to Bella's truck. He lifted his bike into the cab without a struggle and drove the truck back to Bella. He then put his arm around her and dragged her to the truck. Once she was securely in, he went back for her bike. Again without any problems, he lifted Bella's bike next to his in the cab and hopped in the driver's seat before taking off. As the vehicle sped out of sight, I looked back out at the ocean.

I knew it'd only be a matter of days before Jacob Black joined the pack.

_**A/N – Please Review**_


	18. The Call

**Chapter 18 – The Call**

Sam's POV

I was washing dishes after supper when I got the call. The phone rang right after I felt a weird shimmer in the air. I turned and quickly grabbed it.

"Sam, it's Billy," Billy said in a raised voice over the growling in the background. "Jacob's just turned."

"I'm on it," I told him, hanging up the phone and quickly running past a startled Emily towards the backyard. It took Jacob a lot longer to turn than I thought it would. After I saw him on the cliffs, I thought it would only be a matter of days before he changed. Over three weeks later and he only just turned.

I quickly phased and felt my brothers phase too. Sometimes that extra instinct to let us know when someone had changed was really helpful. I heard Jacob's panicked voice in my head. I felt his confusion. He was thinking about attacking Billy.

"Jacob, don't attack Billy. You need to get out of the house," I calmly told him as I ran towards the Black home. I met up with the pack as we waited just inside the forest, staring across the street to the house.

We saw the door open and Billy press himself against the interior wall of the house, as a gigantic russet brown wolf ran passed him and out the door. He was almost as big as me. Jacob ran to where the rest of us stood in the forest. As soon as he joined us, we started to run deep into the forest.

Jacob was running through the events of what had just happened in his mind. He had just come back from seeing a movie with Bella Swan and her friend who kept puking. Paul laughed at that image which freaked Jacob out as it dawned on him that we could see his thoughts and he could see ours.

"What happened next?" I asked. Jacob looked at me tensely before continuing with his memories.

He had been sitting in the car with Bella and started feeling really sick. He got home and felt like he was about to crawl out of his skin. Billy said he didn't look good and that was all it took. He exploded and he didn't understand what the hell was happening.

When we got deep enough into the woods, I had Embry explain everything to him as the others left us to patrol. I thought he would take it better from Embry. He told Jacob how all of our legends were true. He also explained the reason for his distance over the past month.

"I'm so freaking excited that you're with us, man," Embry said, nudging Jacob with his head.

"But why did this happen now?" Jacob asked. Unlike the rest of the pack, Jacob wasn't immediately celebrating the fact that he was a werewolf.

"And why the hell should I? I'm a freak." Jacob responded to my thought. Paul started growling.

"Enough Paul," I said. I went on to explain.

"You're blood was first triggered by the Cullens living so close to the rez. It usually takes an entire year to go through the process. We've recently had another vampire come to the area and this one keeps repeatedly coming back. That's why this is happening to you now. We actually thought you would turn sooner."

I searched his mind and had a good idea why he hadn't turned as quickly as we thought he would. It was because of the Swan girl. Because Jacob had been so happy hanging out with her that he hadn't had any issues with his temper.

"Oh God, what am I going to tell Bella?" Jacob suddenly cried.

"Nothing, you can not tell her anything," I ordered and felt the Alpha voice come out. I watched Jacob fall to the ground. I hated taking away someone's control, and I felt sick for using the Alpha power against him so soon after he turned. But I felt his bond with Bella. It was no where near what I had with Emily, but it was still strong and true.

"You can't tell anyone anything," I explained in my normal voice. "In fact, you need to stay away from people in general. You're going to be dangerous for awhile until you can get control of yourself. You shouldn't hang around Quil in the meantime and you definitely need to stay away from Bella."

I showed him then something that I normally avoided thinking about. I showed him the day I attacked Emily. How my one loss of control had put Emily in the hospital for two weeks. I showed him the pain that she went through and the terror I felt when I saw her lifeless at my feet. I relived every heartbreaking moment and felt the rest of the pack shudder in pain. Jacob wanted to throw up.

"Okay, I promise. I'll stay away from Bella," he mumbled, his head low and I could feel his anguish.

I thought of Bella in that moment, about how much pain she still seemed to be in and the reason why. Jacob could see it too. He saw through my mind how Bella had looked when I first discovered her in the forest and he flinched. He also saw how I could still see her so clearly when every other woman remained out of focus. Even Leah was blurry to me most of the time. Bella's pain over her loss of the leech seemed almost equal to what I would feel if I lost Emily. That image filled Jacob with rage.

"She grieves for him…still? I'm a monster because of him and she grieves for him?" Jacob yelled.

"Yes," I replied sadly.

I felt the anger seep out of Jacob as his mind filled with anguish. I could feel that he was on the verge of balling so I ordered the pack to phase back into human form and I soon followed. Jacob didn't need us to be in his mind in that moment.

He started to cry and as he did so he transformed back into his human form. He was lying on the ground in a fetal position. I knew by Embry's expression that he was just as surprised by how quickly Jacob transformed as I was. None of us had been able to phase back to our human forms that quickly after changing the first time. Jacob Black was going to be an incredible wolf. Once he got used to the idea.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning I walked over to Jacob's house. As I came up to it, I saw Jacob's friend Quil Ateara walking down the road in the opposite direction. His shoulders were slumped in dejection. I knocked on the door and moments later Billy opened it up, looking disgruntled.

"Oh hey Sam, I thought you were Quil. Come on in." Billy said, moving his wheelchair back so that I could enter the house. "Quil and Jacob were supposed to hang out today. I had to explain that Jake was sick. Same thing when Bella Swan called last night. I know they mean well, but Jake needs his space right now. He's still pretty freaked out."

"Yeah," I agreed. "I'd like to talk to him."

"Sure, sure…he's in his room."

I walked down the hall to Jacob's bedroom. I knocked, but when I didn't receive a reply, I walked in. Jacob was sitting in the middle of his bed with his knees pulled up to his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs. His forehead was resting on top of his knees and he was slightly rocking. I smiled as I realized he had chopped his hair and it was cropped like the rest of ours. He was the only one in the pack that did it on his own.

"Hey Jake," I said and watched his head shoot up.

"Oh…hey Sam."

"So how you feeling today?"

"Pretty fucked up actually."

"Yeah," I replied. "Listen, why don't you and I go for a walk?"

"Sure," Jacob said tiredly. We walked out of his room and headed out the door. I nodded goodbye to Billy. Jacob didn't even acknowledge his father. We were walking down the road before he spoke again.

"I can't believe my dad knew everything that was going on and didn't say anything to me."

"He couldn't, but I'll get into that more in a little bit." I replied.

We walked the rest of the way in silence over to the bonfire area on the cliffs. Ironic that this was where I had learned the truth of what I was from the Elders almost a year ago. I had a lot of responsibility thrown on me that day. Now, I was about to unload some of it on this 16-year-old boy.

"Listen, there's something we need to talk about. Last night after you changed, I caught a memory that briefly popped in your head when we were talking about Bella and the Cullens." I told him.

I watched his hands begin to shake and then just as soon as they started, they stopped. I was amazed. It took me six months to get that kind of control.

"I understand that you told Bella Swan the legend of our people and the story of the "Cold Ones."

Jacob looked embarrassed and his cheeks began to flush red. He slowly nodded. I turned from him and looked out at the ocean below in an attempt to hide my annoyance.

"What I don't understand is why the Cullens didn't retaliate?" I wondered aloud. "You broke the treaty, even if you didn't realize that it was true, and yet they still did nothing. Unless, I'm assuming too much and the Swan girl wouldn't have repeated to her leech boyfriend what you told her."

I saw Jacob flinch at that, before he shook his head and whispered, "She probably would have told him."

I had to remember to control my own temper then. Jacob had unwittingly put the entire tribe in danger to impress that girl. I looked back at the ocean.

"I've conferred with the Elders about this. We know it wasn't your fault, but you have to be careful from now on. As I told you last night, you can't tell anyone what we truly are. It's for the safety of the tribe and the pack. If it becomes known that we are what we are, every bloodsucker in the world will hunt us and our people. The tribe always comes first. We can't risk our families because of an outsider."

"Yeah," Jacob replied softly yet bitterly.

"Okay, that said, there is something else I need to talk to you about. I've been acting as Alpha since the pack first formed. I was only supposed to be in charge until you turned. Jacob, by natural succession, you should be chief of the tribe as was your great-grandfather. You're the true Alpha. You can lead the pack, take up the reigns like your fathers did before you."

I watched as Jacob's eyes became wide and his face drained of color.

"I don't want to lead anyone. I don't even want to be a freaking wolf. I just want to go back like I was. Normal!" He shouted and began shaking and then suddenly stopped after a minute. Again, I was surprised at how well he could control his temper.

"Okay then, if you're sure that's what you want, I'll continue in the role." I said cautiously. I watched Jacob nodded his head vehemently. The weight of the Alpha which I had been willing to give up, settled back on my shoulders.

"Well Jacob, after you went home last night, the pack found the scent of a new vampire which means there's now two in the area. It also probably explains why you changed when you did," I told him, walking over to put my arm around his shoulder. "Let's say you and I go hunt some vampire."

I saw a wide cynical smile break across Jacob's face. His hate for what the Cullens did to us and anything that represented the vampire world made him shake uncontrollably. We ran into the woods just in time, as Jacob phased right out of his clothes. I stripped out of the jogging pants I had been wearing and quickly phased too. We then took off to hunt the monsters that had ruined our lives.

_**A/N – Well Jacob is now officially part of the pack. Hope this lived up to expectations. Feedback, as always, would be very helpful. Please leave a review.**_


	19. Vampire

**Chapter 19 – Vampire**

Sam's POV

Having Jacob as a wolf brought a whole new dynamic to the pack. We were able to expand our search area and do longer patrols. And in the two weeks since he phased, we were also able to get some leads on the bloodsuckers that kept coming to the area.

About a week ago, we caught a glimpse of them. One was female with hair that seemed to blaze in red warning. Her partner was male with long black hair. We knew from their scents that the female was the one who attacked the camper. The problem was we could never seem to catch them.

What was even worse was that they weren't the only issue we now had to deal with. There was a new element of danger in the forest. The missing camper hadn't gone unnoticed. It was all over the local news: _"Missing hiker's campsite found abandoned." _

The stories mentioned repeatedly that animal prints were found in the area. Because nothing ever happened in Forks-nothing that regular people knew about anyway-it was a story that kept building instead of dying out. It had created enough of a frenzy that forest rangers were now coming into the woods at regular intervals to set up animal traps. Paul almost stepped on one the other day and the rest of the pack was treated to a 10 minute tirade of profanity.

Aside from having to worry about avoiding traps, it was also an extremely dangerous time for people to be in the forest and we were given the task of having to babysit them. Just the other day, two rangers were in the woods without any clue that they were being hunted. We managed to scare off the redheaded bloodsucker just as she'd been about to pounce on them. Luckily for us, we'd move too quickly and the humans hadn't had a chance to see us.

The only area that I knew was safe from vampires was the town of Forks itself. That probably had a lot to do with the fact that Jacob stationed himself outside of Bella Swan's house every night after he was done patrolling.

True to his word he didn't have any contact with her, although Billy had told me she was calling him practically every half hour of the day. Instead, Jake went to her house every night and just stared up at her window, hoping for a glimpse of her from his vantage point in the woods.

I couldn't blame him for his actions. I used to do the same thing with Leah after I first phased and then again with Emily after I imprinted. He missed her, mourned not being around her, and his pain caused us all to hurt. If he needed to check on her house to relieve some of his depression, I wasn't going to stop him.

Out of all the new wolves, he was having the most trouble adjusting. He didn't want this life. He was becoming increasing bitter over the fact that he had "cursed blood" as he called it. In that regard, Jacob and I were practically the same. I related better to him than I did my other brothers because I also still felt pain over being a werewolf.

The fact that I broke Leah's heart and almost killed Emily was something I struggled with every day, not to mention how I pretty much ruined Emily's relationship with her Clearwater family. If it weren't for Harry, Emily would have been completely excluded from the rest of the Clearwaters. Jacob felt my constant pain every time we shared our thoughts. It gave him more incentive to stay away from Bella.

He didn't want to cause her anymore emotional pain than her leech lover had already given her. She had suffered enough. But it didn't mean that he wasn't thinking about her all the time or missing her like crazy.

If there was one thing that equaled Jacob's depression, it was his hate for the Cullens, and in that regard…again, we were very similar. So many lives had been destroyed by their mere presence. I hated them with a fury that was indescribable. And as Jacob's separation from Bella continued, his hatred for the leeches practically surpassed my own.

But the blood drinkers and Jacob's behavior weren't the only things I had to worry about. Harry had to go back in for more tests. His heart was still erratic and they were considering the option of heart surgery. Before they took that step though, the doctors were trying him on different medication. I was worried for him. Emily was terrified. I tried to reassure her as much as I could, but we were both anxiously waiting to find out if the new drug worked. So to say that I felt a little stress in my life was an understatement.

The first Saturday of March was when the pack finally got its first big break. I had only been home a few hours after a long night of patrolling. Too tense to fall asleep, I laid on the couch to watch some TV. Emily took one look at my strained face and laid down next to me, wrapping her arm around my waist. I felt myself begin to relax as I held her close. Against my will, I yawned.

"Sam, why don't you get some sleep for a few hours?" Emily implored.

Before I could answer, I heard a howl. It was loud enough that even Emily heard it with her normal human hearing. It sounded like Jared. He and Paul were doing a double shift and covering the morning patrol. I quickly leaned over and kissed Emily on the cheek, before I jumped up and ran towards the backyard, phasing when I entered the woods.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Jared showed me that the male vampire was in the area and they were fast on his trail. Jacob had just joined them in their pursuit. I felt Embry phase and he and I followed quickly behind. Jared had incredible eyesight and as he scanned the area in front of him, we were able to see for miles out. We soon found what we were looking for.

Up in a meadow ahead of us was the male vampire. What made all of our hearts begin to pound frantically was that he was talking to a human. The fact that the missing hiker had died on our watch, still pained the entire pack. We weren't about to let another human die because we failed to protect them.

"Oh God no…Bella!" Jacob suddenly shouted and picked up speed which urged us all to move faster.

We could see that Bella and the leech were talking. She seemed to know him. We ran until we caught up with each other within a mile of the meadow.

"Everyone stop right here," I said. Jacob took several steps forward and was debating whether to charge ahead anyway. Reluctantly, I issued an Alpha order. "I said STOP!"

Jacob immediately fell to the ground.

_"_We have to think this through," I told the pack, avoiding looking at Jake as he pressed his nose to the ground under the impact of my command. _"_We aren't on our land. What if this is a friend of the Cullens? We don't want to risk the tribe by breaking the treaty. Furthermore, it seems as though she knows the leech."

The bloodsucker was moving towards her. All of us froze as we observed him carefully. It looked like he was about to pounce on her.

Jacob slowly got back on his feet. "What are we supposed to do? Wait until he drains her_?"_

Jacob's insolent tone pissed me off, but I had to push it aside. We looked towards the area where Bella and the leech were still talking. Reading Bella's body language made us inch quietly forward in unison. She looked terrified.

_"_Then why aren't we doing anything_?"_ Jacob demanded, hearing my thoughts.

_"_Quiet_,"_ I instructed, not using my Alpha voice this time. I needed us all to be ready in case we had to attack. I didn't want to risk the treaty and needed to be sure that Bella was in danger before we acted. Jacob softly whined. The pack focused our hearing on what the leech was saying.

"…look at it this way, Bella. You're very lucky I was the one to find you."

"Am I?" Bella replied, stepping back.

"Yes, I'll be very quick. You won't feel a thing, I promise. Oh, I'll lie to Victoria about that later, naturally, just to placate her. But if you knew what she had planned for you, Bella. I swear you'd be thanking me for this."

We saw him sniff the air around her and heard him say, "Mouthwatering."

_"_Okay, treaty or no treaty, let's get this bastard_,"_ I said. Just as the leech took a step forward, I stepped towards the edge of the meadow. The fool was so intent on his prey that he hadn't even heard us. But he definitely smelled us. His head whipped over in my direction.

"I don't believe it," the bloodsucker said in shock.

If it was possible, I'd say that stupid walking corpse became even paler. I walked into the meadow and lifted my lips, showing him my teeth as I began to growl. The sound coming from me shot across the open field. Bella jumped at the noise.

The vampire began to back away from Bella just as I was flanked by Jared and Paul. We stealthily walked towards the leech, putting ourselves between him and Bella. Jacob and Embry then came out of the woods, going to the other side of Jared and Paul.

Jacob being the closest to Bella almost brushed up against her. We heard her gasp and saw her jump back out of the corner of our eyes. For a moment Jacob lost focus as he turned his head to stare at her. Through his eyes we saw the terror on her face. I knew she saw us as bigger monsters than the bloodsucker. Jacob flinched at the thought.

"Bella," Jacob said mournfully as he stared at her. Pain shot through him making us all wince.

_"_Damn, I hope she's not going to faint," Jared replied, not taking his eyes off the leech, but still seeing Bella through Jacob's view.

"Focus," I demanded and Jacob's head whipped back.

The vampire took off running and we charged after him. Unlike the last time he came to the area and evaded us, this time it was almost too easy to catch him. We chased him about a mile away from the meadow, but that was more to get him away from Bella than because we couldn't catch him. It was actually laughable how easily we could have outrun him.

"Attack," I ordered.

Jacob needed no further encouragement. He lunged towards the leech's neck, instantly ripping the head from the body causing a metallic sound to resonate through the area. I latched onto the chest and pulled up, ripping the legs from the body which were being pinned down by Paul. Jared and Embry grabbed an arm and ripped them away from the torso. Paul grabbed the legs and carried them both in his mouth.

"Bout time you used that big mouth for something," Jared joked as we each grabbed a body part and carried it back towards La Push. The exhilaration that the entire pack felt was electric. Jacob seemed to prance in his excitement as he grabbed the bloodsucker's head and swung it by its hair.

"Prance? I don't prance. If anything I strut," Jacob complained.

"No, I think Sam's right. You are definitely prancing," Embry snickered.

"Aww, is little Jakey going to join a ballet class next," Paul mocked and Jacob jokingly growled in return. He walked over to Paul and swung the leech's head, hitting Paul in the shoulder.

"Ah sick, now I'm gonna smell like vampire stink," Paul complained. The whole pack laughed and the intense rush we were all feeling went over us again.

We took the body parts to a bonfire pit near the rez. It was an area hidden in the woods and out of sight from anyone passing by. I quickly ran home, phasing as I rushed into the house to grab some matches. Emily wasn't there. I knew she had planned on going over to see Harry. I quickly ran back out again, changing back into my wolf form.

By the time I got back, the body was in more pieces. Apparently the leech had been trying to reassemble himself and his limbs had started to move back towards the torso. The pack had made sure that didn't happen.

We put the body in a pile and I phased back to human form and set it on fire with the matches. The intense smell burned our noses and we had to step back, but it didn't take away from our joy at the sight of seeing a leech burn. We finally caught one of the elusive pair.

One vampire down…one to go.


	20. Unexpected Break

**Chapter 20 – Unexpected Break**

Sam's POV

"Jake, Embry…hey, wait up." I heard Quil Ateara call out. I heard two humans running and then the shimmering feel of Jacob and Embry phasing.

"Damn it!" Jacob swore. Pain radiated out of both Jacob and Embry.

"I hate this," Embry complained. "Did you see his face? That so wasn't worth taking a couple hours break."

"You guys did the right thing. It's better to keep your distance." I reminded them.

They met up with the rest of the pack and we started our afternoon patrol of the treaty line before heading back home. It had been a long night and morning of patrolling. But the good news was that we hadn't caught any fresh scents of the redheaded vampire. We were hopeful that we had scared her off the lands for good. She must have realized by now that her companion wasn't coming back.

We soon completed our afternoon check and headed towards Emily's house for lunch. It was funny how I thought of the house as Emily's. She had taken over it completely. It wasn't a tiny little shack anymore, but a warm loving home that even had flowers in the picture box under front exterior window. I felt warmth spread through me as I thought about how much love and peace she brought into my life. At this thought, Paul started making gagging noises and Jared kissing noises.

"All right, all right, let's go eat." I laughed as we reached the forest border and phased back into human form. After we each put on our sweats, we walked into the house. I heard movement in the kitchen and headed in that direction.

Emily had outdone herself making subs for all of us. Emily loved cooking. It wasn't something she did out of pure necessity because I couldn't cook to save my life, but she did it with an absolute joy. She also loved taking care of her "boys," as she called the pack.

We soon started talking about the elusive leech and wondering if she would come back. We didn't understand why she kept coming back to the area in the first place. With the exception of the Cullens, we hadn't heard of any other bloodsuckers coming repeatedly to one area before. She wasn't following normal patterns.

We had begun to wonder if she was testing us in some way, trying to get us separate to get by our defenses somehow. Maybe that was why we had been finding so many different trails of her scent recently. All of us were hopeful though that she was gone for good. We were finishing off our third round of subs when the phone rang. I got up to answer it.

"Hey Sam, is Jacob there?" Billy asked.

"Yeah, we're just finishing lunch."

"Hey, I just wanted to let him know that Bella Swan has stationed herself outside of our house and I don't think she's planning on leaving until she talks to Jacob."

"Okay, thanks for letting me know."

We hung up and I leaned against the counter frowning. I didn't think it was a good idea for Jacob to spend anytime with Bella. At least not right now. He was still a new wolf. He had lost complete focus when we were in the meadow about to attack that black haired bloodsucker because he saw Bella Swan. If he lost focus and control and hurt her as I had hurt Emily, I knew he wouldn't ever forgive himself.

I walked over to Emily and wrapped an arm around her waist, kissing the scar on the side of her mouth. She turned and smiled and I felt calmness wash over me. Emily was here and she was alive. Feeling her warmth helped me reach a decision.

"Jacob, that was Billy on the phone. Apparently Bella Swan has stationed herself at your house and he doesn't think she'll leave until she sees you."

I watched Jacob carefully and felt my resolve waver as his hands began to instantly shake. Bella had quite the effect on him. I began to worry in earnest that he would lose control.

"What should I do?" Jacob said worriedly. But when he looked up at me, I caught the faint hope in his eyes before he squashed it and the cynical, bitter look came on his face again. No one his age should look like that. I sighed and hugged Emily closer.

"You should talk to her," and I saw his eyes light up again, "we'll go with you and if you seem like you're going to lose it, we'll help you."

Jacob nodded and stood up quickly. I smiled as I saw his hands stop shaking.

"Come on, let's go," I told the rest of the pack and listened to them groan as they got up. Jared shoved another 3 inches of sub sandwich in his mouth and grabbed another one for the road, mumbling thanks to Emily as he walked out the door.

"Leave the dishes, I'll clean up when I get back," I told her, bringing her scarred hand to my lips and kissing it before leaning in to kiss her mouth.

"No problem," Emily laughed before pushing me towards the door. "Go take care of your brother."

We walked towards Billy's house. Paul was grumbling the whole time.

"What is it with this leech-lover anyway? Can't she get a friggin clue that you don't want anything to do with her?"

I watched Jacob's hands slowly curl up into fists. "Enough Paul. Jacob can you handle this?"

"Yeah," Jacob responded despondently.

"Remember it's better for you to cut her out of your life. You don't want to hurt her and you can't seem to control your emotions when you're around her."

"I know." Jacob said, not looking up from the ground. I didn't say anything else.

I frowned as we continued to walk. We knew that Bella's constant calling was hurting Jacob. He wanted to see her badly, but he was trying to do what was best. She wasn't making his decision easy though. He was becoming too depressed and it was hurting the rest of the pack.

When we finally reached Billy's house and came upon Bella doodling on some paper in her truck, the rest of the pack was feeling pretty hostile towards her as they remembered Jacob's pain. My only concern was Jacob and his reaction. He went right over to the window and rapped on the truck door.

"What are you doing here, Bella?" Jacob demanded.

"Jacob?" She whispered as she stared at him. I knew that in the weeks since she had seen him last he probably looked very different to her. I saw her look around the entire pack taking in our stances and matching hair cuts. We all looked like we were in our mid to late 20s instead of our actual ages.

Her eyes finally rested on me and she instantly started glaring. I had the feeling that if she could, she would have tried to run me over with her truck and the thought amused me. Here I was trying to protect her and look out for her best interests, and I think she wanted to kill me.

"What do you want?" Jacob asked hostilely.

"I want to talk to you," she responded, taken back.

"Go ahead."

"Alone." She said angrily.

The entire pack turned and looked at me. I met Jacob's eyes and saw the pleading there. I knew that his hands weren't shaking and I felt assured that he would control himself and I slowly nodded. The rest of us turned and went into Billy's house. Jared and Embry went and stared out the window and watched as Bella and Jacob headed towards the woods. I sat down on the Black's small couch.

"Come on guys, let's give them some privacy." I told my brothers, not that it would matter. Even if we didn't watch the events we could still hear everything that they were saying. I almost laughed when I heard Bella ask Jacob what I had done to him. Apparently Jacob had told her his "cult" theory before he turned.

"You think he'll be okay?" Embry asked nervously.

"Jake seems to be in control of himself." I said as I glanced towards the window.

"I hope he doesn't hurt Bella, Charlie would never forgive me." Billy said worriedly.

"If I feel him phase, I'll be right there," I assured Billy. Just then we heard something in their conversation that made my brothers and I pause.

"I ran into Quil today." Bella yelled at Jacob. "You remember your friend, Quil. Yeah, he's terrified."

Jacob whispered, "Quil."

"He's worried about you, too. He's freaked out. He's frightened that he's next." Bella told him.

We all looked at each other in surprise. Come to think of it, Quil had shot up over the past couple of weeks. But as long as the redheaded bloodsucker stayed away, he'd be okay.

"What? What happened?" Billy asked, panicking.

"It's okay, he hasn't done anything." I assured Billy. But I jumped up from the couch and went over to the window.

"He won't be next, he can't be." Jake started murmuring. "It's over now. This shouldn't still be happening. Why? Why?" And then we heard Jacob punch a tree. It snapped under the pressure of his fist. There was silence for a moment and then we heard with some relief Jacob say, "I have to get back."

They proceeded to argue some more. The rest of us began to discuss the possibilities of Quil joining the pack.

"Do you think it's possible?" Embry asked, and I could hear the excitement that lay beneath the question.

"I sincerely hope not," I told him. "There are more than enough of us now. There's no reason for anyone else to have to change. As long as that leech stays away, no one else needs to go through this."

We were distracted by the sudden ringing of the phone. Billy went to get it.

"Hey Charlie, how's it going? Yeah, she's here. She's talking to Jake right now." Billy told Bella's father. The front door flew open and Jacob stormed in. He looked furious and he was shaking badly. "Oh wait, Jacob just got in. Bella should be on her way."

"You did good Jacob," I told him as I watched him try to get a hold of himself. "You're protecting her whether she knows it or not."

Something in Jacob's face made me pause. I couldn't put my finger on it. He had a look of determination that I didn't understand. I suddenly felt uneasy.

"Hey, she's still here." Jared said looking out the window. Jacob began to shake even harder.

"She needs to get out of here. I don't think I can hold on much longer." Jacob muttered.

"I'll talk to her," Billy said, heading towards the door. We heard him tell Bella that her father had just called and he was expecting her. The noisy engine of her truck soon revved up and we heard her leave the area. Jacob ran outside and headed towards the woods, barely out of sight before he phased.

"Should we go after him?" Embry asked.

"No, let's give him some time." I responded, hoping that was the right call. Something in Jacob's face disturbed me.

As night descended, I decided to give Jacob the night off from patrolling. He needed some time to cool down and gather his thoughts. Unfortunately, it was a night that we picked up the redheaded leech's scent again. This time we tracked her down to a resort known for its hot springs. By the time we got there, we were too late. She had already snatched a man who had been walking with his wife.

We saw it happen from a distance. A man and woman were talking holding hands. They had been hiking on a trail next to the resort. The man let go of the woman's hand and walked farther into the woods. We saw the leech snatch him, so quickly that the woman didn't even see it. We raced through the trees to the area. Embry got a little too close to where the woman was and we heard her scream "bear," and she took off running towards the resort. Like the camper, we weren't able to find the man or the leech after they disappeared.

We headed back to the reservation. I howled and felt Jacob phase. I told him that another hiker was snatched.

"You want me to meet you?" Jacob asked.

"No stay there in case the bloodsucker decides to head in that direction." I told him. The rest of us patrolled the area again to be on the safe side but we didn't pick up any fresh scents. A couple hours later, I felt Jacob phase again.

"Hey, I've got something to tell you. Can you guys meet me near the area that people race bikes? And come as humans, okay?"

"What's going on Jacob?" I asked.

"Just trust me, okay?"

"All right," I replied wondering why Jacob was so excited, but he was being very careful not to think of anything.

The pack headed towards the cliffs. We phased into human form and waited for Jacob. This was the area where we saw Jacob and Bella motorcycling weeks ago. All of a sudden we heard the noisy sound of a truck come to the area we were standing in. We saw Jacob get out of the truck and we headed out of the woods to meet him. That was when we saw Bella Swan cowering behind him. Fury shot through me and I saw the rest of my brothers stiffen at the same time. Now I understood the look on Jacob's face yesterday. Damn his rebelliousness.

"What have you done Jacob?" I asked, barely holding on to my fury. Paul pushed forward.

"Why can't you just follow the rules, Jacob? What the hell are you thinking? Is she more important than everything-than the whole tribe? Than the people getting killed?" Paul shouted.

"She can help," Jacob said with quiet determination.

"Help! Oh, that's likely! I'm sure the leech-lover is just dying to help us out." Paul yelled.

"Don't talk about her like that!" Jacob shouted back beginning to get angry himself.

I saw Paul start to shake badly. We were all frazzled at this point. We'd been up all night and failed yet again at preventing the leech from killing another person. Jacob was the exception and was well rested. Although angry with Paul, Jacob couldn't hide the quiet joy about him as he stood holding Bella's hand. I glanced at Paul and saw him begin to shake badly.

"Paul! Relax!" I ordered. He had the worst temper of us all and I knew that combination of lack of sleep and stress were most likely going to make Paul lose it.

"Jeez, Paul, get a grip," Jared said, embarrassed as he usually was when Paul lost his temper. Jacob carefully angled himself even more in front of Bella. That was all it took. Paul lost it.

"Right, protect _her_!" Paul screamed.

"Paul!" Jacob and I both yelled, but it was too late. Paul shuddered and his skin ripped away and the dark silver fur of the wolf came out. He looked like he was going to lunge for Bella. Jacob ran towards him. I heard Bella scream his name before he instantly phased. The two wolves met halfway across the street and began attacking each other.

"Jacob," Bella screamed again and headed after them.

"Stay where you are, Bella." I yelled over the growling and watched her instantly freeze. I watched as Jacob knocked Paul back into the trees. They soon disappeared from sight although the growls echoed throughout the area. I sighed and started heading towards their direction.

"Take her to Emily's" I told Jared and Embry and soon ran after the two. I phased and came upon them just as Jacob was hitting Paul in the shoulder with his paw.

"Ow, you stupid son of a bitch," Paul screamed.

"Enough, stop!" I ordered in my Alpha voice and watched them both separate and drop.

"Do you understand now Jacob why I told you not to tell her? Did you see the danger you just put her in? Why didn't you listen to me?" I demanded and felt the turmoil sink into Jacob.

"I didn't come out and tell her anything, she remembered me telling her the legend of our tribe," he explained but I read in his mind his late night visit to the Swan house last night and how he prodded her memory in the right direction. He hung his head in shame.

"So was this what you wanted to tell us?" I asked, barely holding on to my temper. Jacob felt my anger and he looked away as he replayed a conversation he had with Bella on the beach earlier that morning. We saw her tell him that the redheaded bloodsucker was after her because apparently Edward Cullen, had killed the leech's mate and the vampire wanted revenge.

"The bloodsucker is after Bella?" Paul said, calming down.

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to tell you guys." Jacob explained.

"This is exactly the break we needed. I'm not saying your methods were correct Jacob, but this is what we needed to know." I said, feeling excitement race through me. Jacob felt it and I could feel his relief. We headed towards Emily's and were laughing by the time we got back to the house.

I walked in first and saw Bella leaning against the counter looking pale. She still looked terrible and in pain, but her face relaxed when she saw Jacob and Paul follow me in laughing as they compared injuries, or lack there of in Jacob's case. Paul had a little scratch on his arm that would soon disappear. We all healed so quickly.

"Emily," I said and walked over to her. Having Bella so close to Paul as he had phased reminded me of the pain I had caused Emily. I reached down and grabbed her face with both hands kissing her scarred cheek before kissing her lips.

"Hey, none of that," Jared whined, "I'm eating."

"Then shut up and eat," I told him, kissing Emily on the mouth again.

"Ugh," I heard Embry mutter before he shoved a muffin in his mouth.

My brothers started laughing and joking. The mood was relaxed after the hectic night we had. I hated the idea of having to discuss business, but I knew it had to be done.

"Hey guys, Jacob has some information for us." I told them all the while touching Emily even as she continued to cook breakfast.

I let Jacob explain what the redheaded leech was after. We soon began to strategize our plans for attack. First thing we needed to do was make sure that Bella Swan was safe at all times. It was decided that she would spend her free time on the reservation. When she was at home, we would be on guard, patrolling the area around her house.

Bella hung out at the reservation for the rest of the day and part of the following day. A couple of days after Bella's revelation, we caught the leech in the area again and chased her all the way until we reached the ocean. She jumped off a cliff and disappeared in the water. We didn't follow. While we were the stronger ones on land, the bloodsuckers had the advantage in the water. We decided to head back to Emily's to regroup.

We had just walked in the house when I felt a very strong shimmer. I looked back at the pack and knew that they felt it too.

"Quil, maybe?" Embry asked.

"I don't know, that was awfully strong," I said as I turned to head back outside. The phone rang and I ran into the kitchen to get it.

"Hello?"

"Sam…"

"Harry?" I asked, I could barely hear his faint voice and my stomach began to roll. Something was very wrong here. Emily had just come into the kitchen and stiffened when she heard me.

"Seth…LEAH…" was all I heard before hearing a loud crash and Sue scream in the background. Then the phone went dead.

_**A/N – Please Review**_


	21. Chaos

**Chapter 21 – Chaos**

Sam's POV

I froze for half a minute staring at the phone before moving into action.

"Emily, try to call your uncle's house. Something just happened, I don't know what, but I think it has to do with Leah and Seth. We need to leave now." I said looking at my pack of brothers before turning back to Emily, "I'll be back as soon as I can."

We ran into the back of yard quickly phasing and I heard two new voices.

"What's going on…oh god, Dad," Seth cried.

"Sam's engaged, Sam's engaged," I heard Leah's voice over and over at the same time. She must be in shock.

"Sam?" Leah's voice broke through her daze.

"Seth, Leah, we're on our way."

The pack quickly found them. Sure enough when we reached the siblings, there they both were. Seth was a sandy brown wolf. And Leah…Leah was a light grey wolf.

"I'm a wolf?" Leah asked in surprised.

"What the hell do you think just happened?" Paul sneered.

"Shut up Paul," I yelled before looking at Seth and Leah. In a gentler voice, I said, "Explain what just happened to you."

Leah's mind went suddenly blank as though the pain was too much for her to think about. Seth on the other hand replayed everything in vivid detail.

Leah and Seth were walking down the hallway towards the kitchen when they overheard their father telling their mother that I was engaged to Emily. I felt sharp pain from Leah as her memory took over and she began to finally replay what had happened.

She had heard her father say that I was engaged. Her mother was upset, but her father said that Emily and I were meant to be together. Leah became so furious over her father's defense of me that she felt like she was going to explode. Her skin had felt crawly and started stinging badly and she found herself lunging for her father.

Seth's memory took back over. He saw Leah explode into a wolf and she started to go after their father. He felt fear and fury intermingle and before he knew it, sharp heat and pain radiated from his body and he felt his skin explode off of him. Right before Leah could get close enough to either parent, he had head-butted her into the wall. Their mother screamed and quickly ran to the back door, opening it.

Seth told Leah to leave and Leah listened. Seth looked over to see her father dialing the phone. He heard his father say my name and then their names before collapsing. Their mother screamed as Harry fell and Seth quickly ran out of the house after his sister.

"Okay, I want you both to listen to me very carefully," I told them and proceeded to tell them about our legends. When I was done, Seth seemed slightly calmer. Leah on the other hand was freaking out.

"So I'm a fucking wolf? Not just any wolf, but the only female wolf known in our history? I'm a freak among freaks?" She screamed, before switching gears, "Is this why you dumped me, because you were a wolf?"

Before I could stop myself, an image of the first time I saw Emily flashed in my mind. They saw how I imprinted. They felt how strong the bond was. They saw that after I imprinted Leah was out of focus and I could no longer see her clearly. It was odd that I could see her now clearly in wolf form. I wondered briefly if I'd be able to see her from now on, now that she was in my pack.

"I don't want to be part of a pack. I don't want to be anywhere near you, Sam Uley," she cried as dozens of memories flashed in her mind before she could stop them. Memories of me promising to love her forever, of our going on dates, of looking for engagement rings a few months before I saw Emily, of having sex for the first time.

"Oh sick, please stop Leah," Seth gagged. Leah's thoughts immediately stopped.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to think that," Leah said, horrified.

"Dude, I never want to see you like that again," Jared said, not even looking in my direction.

"So you could tell Emily all about this wolf thing, but you couldn't tell me, right?" Leah shrieked. Jeez, a woman's mind shifted gears way too fast. I heard Leah's scoff at my random thought.

"I can tell my imprint anything," I told her truthfully and felt her pain again still mixed in with humiliation.

"So you had no choice?" Seth questioned.

"Imprinting is just part of what we are," I answered, because my love for Emily didn't feel like it was something forced on me. It didn't feel like a choice. It felt more like a gift.

"So you don't have any regrets," Leah said bitterly. "You don't wish it could have worked out differently."

"I regret that you were hurt," I told her as guilt and sorrow for what I had done to her plagued me. I felt Leah fill with answering pain.

"What really happened to Emily?" Seth asked. I felt the rest of the pack move restlessly, but I showed them what happened during the attack. I felt a softening from Leah as she realized that her cousin hadn't been disloyal and had tried to resist me.

"Sam…Sam, what about our father?" Seth asked, still shaken.

Worry over their dad and Leah's anger and pain would not allow either Clearwater to change back. I decided to phase back and get an update on Harry. I asked the pack to stay with them until I got back.

"Wait, let me go with you," Jacob said. "I'll need to tell Billy. And then I want to go to Bella's and stay with her. With the bloodsucker running around, I need to make sure she's safe."

I didn't even hesitate. "Fine, let's go."

We ran to Emily's house first and quickly phased. I ran through the house yelling Emily's name. Emily stood in the kitchen, the phone next to her hand as she stood clenching the edge of the counter. She looked up when I walked in.

"I got through to my aunt. Harry's being taken to the hospital. They think he's had a heart attack."

"Jake, let's go pick up your dad and we'll get going," I told him before quickly running in to my room for a shirt and shoes.

We hopped into the truck, Jacob getting in the backseat, and we drove quickly to the Black house. We pulled into a road that led along the side of the house. I stopped the car so that Jacob could go through the home's backdoor entrance. Jacob jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped moving and ran indoors. He soon ran out, pushing Billy in his wheelchair.

Emily got out of the front seat and climbed in the back. Jacob hopped in next to her, after first assisting Billy into the front seat. We took off along the side of the house, out the main drive, and onto the road. In the chaos, neither Jake nor I noticed the red truck parked out front, half hidden by some hedges.

We quickly drove to the hospital, filling Billy in on everything that had happened. We parked the truck and ran into the hospital. Sue was there, pacing up and down the waiting room.

"How is he?" I asked, as Emily reached out to hug her aunt. Sue didn't hesitate and quickly pulled Emily into a tight hug.

"It's bad. He had a massive heart attack. He's in surgery right now, but they don't know if he's going to make it." Sue said, her voice breaking. She released Emily and sat stiffly in her chair. Billy went next to her and grabbed her hand.

"My children…where are they? Billy, I don't understand what I saw. Harry was telling me something and Leah overheard us and got upset and before I knew it, it was like she exploded. She was coming towards us, but it wasn't her, it was a wolf. And then Seth was there, but he turned into a wolf too."

"Why don't Sam and I explain everything to you," Billy said, nodding to me meaningfully.

"Do you remember last year when I disappeared for a couple of weeks," I asked and continued when she nodded. "It was because I became a werewolf. The stories of our tribe are true, every one of them."

"And now my children are wolves too? Even Leah?"

"Apparently, although I don't recall ever hearing about a female wolf before," Billy said cautiously.

"Is that why you broke up with her, Sam?" Sue asked.

"It was part of it. In truth, the main reason was because I imprinted on Emily," I said, reaching out and grabbing Emily's hand as she stood next to me. I went on to explain imprinting to Sue.

"How did you really get hurt Emily?" Sue asked. Emily looked at me, before looking down.

"I did that to her," I told Sue, feeling sick still about it. "I got too close and lost control and you know the rest."

Sue stared at me for awhile and then at Emily. "I guess I misjudged a lot here."

She got up and walked over to Emily. Sue reached out and wrapped her arms around her niece, hugging her again.

"I'm really sorry, honey," Sue said.

"Oh, Aunt Sue," Emily said softly and held her tighter.

"Sam," Sue said, reaching out to pat my cheek. "Sam, will you please go get my children?"

I looked at Emily still in her aunt's embrace. She nodded and I got up.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," I told them, reaching over to grab Emily's free hand and kissing it gently.

"Can you drop me off at Bella's on the way Sam?" Jacob asked.

"Shit."

Both Jacob and I turned and looked at Billy in surprise.

"I forgot with everything that happened. Bella is at our house. She's waiting for you on the beach."

Jacob and I stared at Billy in horror before running out of the hospital.

"Oh God, if we're too late…Sam, we chased that bloodsucker into the water. If she grabbed Bella…" Jacob panicked as we hopped into the truck and raced out of the parking lot.

"We'll get there," I told him. Jacob was shaking so badly that he was beginning to blur.

"Jacob, I'm going to let you out here," I told him as soon as we got out off the main road. "Phase and tell Jared and Embry to check the beach for Bella."

"Right," Jacob said, jumping out of the truck. He ran into the woods, kicking off his shoes and quickly tying his pants around his leg before phasing. I put the truck in park and grabbed Jake's shoes before hopping back in the vehicle and racing back to the reservation.

I pulled into Billy's house, but Bella's truck was no longer there. Jacob ran up to me in wolf form soon after I arrived. I stripped out of my clothes and phased.

"Jared and Embry didn't see her, but they caught a faint trace of her on the beach." Jacob told me. "They weren't able to catch the leech's scent, so I'm hoping that the bloodsucker didn't get her. I was about to head back to Forks to double check, but I think I can smell the tires from her truck. It's going in the direction of the cliffs."

"Let's go check it out," I told Jacob and we began to head towards the cliffs.

"Sam, what about our father?" Seth asked. I was about to give the pack an update, when we heard a scream in the distance. We picked up our pace, and we made it just in time to see Bella Swan's tiny figure jump off the cliff.

"BELLA…NO!" Jacob screamed running faster than I had ever seen him go. I saw him reach the cliff and jump off after her still in wolf form. I raced to the beach, phasing back to human form where I waited anxiously for any sign of them.

Jacob broke the ocean's surface in human form, dragging Bella's lifeless body. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw something red flash on the surface of the water, but when I looked more closely it was gone. As soon as Jake got closer to the shore, he carried Bella out of the water. He was wearing his sweats and I was amazed that he even thought to put them on.

He turned her on her side and hit her in the back several times. Water began to pour out of her mouth. She was very pale and lifeless though.

"How long has she been unconscious?" I asked Jacob.

"I don't know, a few minutes? It didn't take long to tow her to the beach," Jacob replied. I watched as Bella's chest began to move up and down as her body began to take in air again.

"She's breathing. She'll come around," I told Jacob looking back out at the water to see if I could locate the mysterious flash of red again. There was nothing there. I glanced down at Bella. She was whiter than any bloodsucker I'd ever seen and seemed to be getting paler. "We should get her out of the cold, though. I don't like the color she's turning.

"You think its okay to move her?" Jacob asked.

"She didn't hurt her back or anything when she fell?"

"I don't know," Jacob responded. We heard Bella whisper Jake's name.

"Oh! Oh, Bella! Are you okay? Can you hear me? Do you hurt anywhere?" Jacob asked anxiously.

"J-Just my throat," Bella said, barely able to speak.

"Let's get you out of here, then," Jake told her and picked her up carefully.

"You got her?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll take it from here. Get back to the hospital. I'll join you later. Thanks, Sam."

I nodded and quickly ran back to the woods, phasing as I did.

"Leah, Seth, your dad has had a massive heart attack. I need to get you two to the hospital."

I could feel the anguish build in both of them which slowly wiped out their anger. I had Paul show them how to change back to human form. Seth was able to phase after a short period of time. Leah took a little bit longer. I figured it would help Leah if I wasn't around so I told Paul to take Leah back to the woods closest to the Clearwater property and to meet us there. I quickly phased back to human. Seth and I ran through the woods on foot and made our way back to the Black house where we got into my truck.

I drove back to the Clearwater house and pulled up almost to the backyard so that Seth could get into his house without being seen as he was naked. He soon came out in some jeans and a t-shirt and was carrying some clothes for Leah with a pair of her tennis shoes. He got back in the truck and I put the vehicle in drive, pulling it along side the forest where we waited. After an hour, Paul came out of the woods in human form saying that Leah had finally been able to phase back but she didn't want to come to the truck naked.

Seth quickly jumped out and raced to the area where Leah was waiting to give her the clothes. I looked up at the sky as I waited, surprised to realize it was twilight. Soon Leah came out, dressed, her hair a tangled mess. She climbed into the back and looked out the window not trying to speak. We reached the hospital, but by the time we got there it was already too late.

When we walked in, Emily had her aunt wrapped in her arms and Sue cried into her niece's neck. Billy and Charlie Swan were sitting in the corner of the waiting room. Billy had tears running down his face. Charlie was gulping every other second and his eyes were staring straight ahead not focusing on anything.

When they saw us, Sue stood up and raced over to her children, hugging them both tightly as both began to cry. I went over to Emily and hugged her close. She buried her head into my chest, but she didn't cry. When she looked up at me, her eyes were blank, dead. I pulled her closer to me, hoping that my warmth would somehow reach her.

A nurse came out and told the family that they could see Harry and say their goodbyes if they wanted. Sue and her kids were taken to the room where they had moved his body. An hour later they came out. All three had red puffy eyes and desolate expressions.

"Em, you and Sam can go in and see him if you want," Sue said.

Emily nodded and reached for my hand. We walked slowly into the room where they had placed him. Harry's body was covered from the neck down in a hospital sheet. His eyes were mere slits. Emily reached over to close them shut, but they wouldn't close completely. We both stared at the lifeless body of the man who had meant the world to us.

"No Uncle Harry, please no," Emily finally said, her voice cracking as she leaned her head against his forehead.

I let Emily have her moment as I reached out and grabbed Harry's exposed hand, looking down at it, trying to memorize every line and freckle on it. Soon this hand and the rest of this great man would be buried underneath the earth. My mind couldn't wrap around it.

Emily finally lifted away from the body and looked at me. She still wasn't crying, but her eyes held such pain that it broke my heart all over again. I grabbed her and held her close as we looked back at the face of the man who was like a second father to both of us.

"You know, it's not him anymore, Em. He's in a better place now," I said trying to comfort her. Isn't that what people always say?

"But it's still him," she responded despondently.

"I know," I replied, sighing.

"Goodbye Uncle Harry," Emily said, leaning down to kiss her uncle's pale cheek. I reached out and squeezed his hand again and then we turned and left the room.

We walked back into the waiting room. Leah got up from where she was sitting and walked over to Emily.

"Em, I…I'm sorry," Leah whispered. "I didn't understand before…you know, about you and Sam. A part of me still doesn't understand, but I'm not mad at you. Sam told me how you got hurt. That you didn't want to betray me."

"Oh Leah," Emily responded by hugging Leah tight.

Leah hugged Emily back, but not before glaring at me. I looked away, while still feeling a slight hope that Emily would have her family back. It was as if Harry's last gift to his family was forgiveness. The Clearwaters' had forgiven Emily for what they had thought she had done, and Emily was released from the guilt she had been carrying. Leah forgiving me, however, would be a whole other case.

Sue still had arrangements to make and the kids didn't want to leave her. Emily decided to stay with her family and with Charlie who had volunteered to stay behind in case Sue needed assistance. I drove Billy back home, neither of us speaking.

We pulled up to the darkened house. I got Billy's wheelchair out from the back of my truck and pushed Billy into the his home. He flipped on the lights and we saw Bella and Jacob jerk from the couch. We had obviously just woken them up. I let Billy explain what had happened at the hospital, my mind feeling too numb still. When Billy mentioned the word "arrangements" I spoke up.

"I'd better get back there," I told them and quickly left.

I made my way back to the hospital, trying to hold back the tears as a thousand memories of Harry came rushing into my head. I spent a lot of time with Harry when I was dating Leah. In some ways, he was more of a father to me than my own father had been. I could remember, Seth, Harry, and I going to Mariners games in Seattle. I remember having long talks as we had barbeques at the Clearwater house. I thought of all he had done for me and Emily after I had changed, and my throat began to hurt as I forced back the tears. I pushed away all thoughts of Harry as I pulled into the hospital and welcomed the numbness that seemed to settle over me.

I walked into the waiting room. Sue was signing some paperwork while Leah stood behind her mom placing a comforting hand on her mother's shoulder. Seth was sitting on the couch with Charlie Swan. Charlie had his arm around Seth's shoulder as Seth quietly cried into Charlie's chest. And my poor Emily sat alone. She had her arms wrapped around herself tightly. I walked over to her and as soon as she saw me, she stood up and hugged me close.

"Can you take me home? I need to call my mom and update her," Emily said. She was so stiff.

"Yeah, let me talk to Sue real quick," I told her, kissing her on top of her head. I let go of her and walked over to Sue and Leah. Sue had just finished signing the paperwork.

"Sue, can I give you a ride home?"

"Thanks, but Charlie offered to take us all home."

"If you need anything, you let me know," I told her.

"I will. Thank you Sam for everything."

"Okay." I looked over at Leah and as she looked back at me, my heart hurt at the anguish I could clearly see on her face.

"This has been a hell of a day for you…I'm sorry," I reached over and squeezed her shoulder in a gesture of comfort. She shrugged my hand off. I couldn't blame her. If she hadn't learned of my engagement, if she hadn't gone into the rage that transformed her into a werewolf, who knows if Harry would still be here. I knew she blamed me for that.

I went over and kneeled next to Seth who was now sitting by himself on the couch. Charlie had left him and was now talking to Sue. I gently grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him in for a quick hug.

"If you need anything, anything at all, you call me, okay?" I told him. Seth sniffed and nodded his head. I gave his shoulder a squeeze and let him go. I walked over to Emily who had joined Leah, Sue, and Charlie.

"I'll call my mom and let her know what happened. She and my father should already be on there way though." Emily told her aunt.

"Thank you honey," Sue said hugging Emily one more time before letting go. Leah also reached over and gave her cousin a quick hug. Emily turned to me and we walked side by side down the hall, out of the hospital. As soon as we reached the parking lot, Emily grabbed my hand and held it fiercely.

We drove home in silence. I was worried because Emily had yet to speak and her expression was so tight that I wondered what would happen when she did let go. We pulled into the driveway and I was surprised to see that Jacob Black was waiting outside the house.

"Sam, I need to talk to you," Jacob said.

"Now's not the best time Jake," I replied, wrapping my arm around Emily's waist as we walked towards the house.

"It's really important," Jake implored.

"It's okay Sam, I need to call my mom anyway," Emily said, not looking at either one of us before entering the house.

"What's so important?" I demanded impatiently.

"One of the Cullen's is back in the area."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, the leech was waiting when I dropped Bella off at her home a few minutes ago."

I sighed. "Well, this changes things. We'll only be able to guard our treaty border from now on. I'm sorry Jacob, but we won't be able to protect Bella anymore."

"I know, I told her we would only protect our lands."

"Listen, I'm putting you as my second. Tell the rest of the pack. I need you guys to patrol the border tonight. Make sure that redheaded leech and the Cullen bloodsucker stay off our land. I'm going to stay with Emily tonight."

"Okay," Jacob said stiffly. He wasn't expecting to be moved up to second, but I knew Jacob was the best to act in my place. He had proved it over and over again today.

"Oh and Jake, either tomorrow or the following day, I'll need you to talk to Bella. See if you can find out what the Cullens are up to and if they're planning on moving back to the area."

"Sure," Jake said solemnly.

I turned and walked back into the house. I wasn't able to locate Emily right away. I moved quickly into the living room and saw that the slider leading out to the backyard was open slightly. Glancing out, I noticed Emily on one of the lounge chairs outside. She was sitting in the middle of it with her legs pulled up to her chest and her head on her knees. I turned and grabbed a blanket off the couch and walked outside.

I moved carefully and sat behind her on the chair, stretching my legs out on either side of her and put my hands on her shoulders. She turned on her side and wrapped her arms around my waist, burying her face in my chest. As though a dam had broken, Emily began to cry, deep, heartbreaking sobs. I reached down and put the blanket over her.

When she finally fell into an exhausted sleep, the cool night air let me hold her close throughout the night. As I held her, I stared up at the sky watching the stars up above whenever there was a break in the cloudy overcast. My exhausted brain thought briefly about how both Clearwater siblings had changed into wolves the day the elusive vampire and a Cullen came back to the region.

Finally around dawn, I felt tears seep down my face as I quietly mourned Harry. I glanced down at Emily glad that in sleep she found peace. I held her closer and kissed the top of her head as I watched the sky turn light. For the first time in our relationship, I had held Emily in my arms all night.

_**A/N – Please Review**_


	22. So That Happened

_A/N – I am now entering the Eclipse part of my story. If you haven't read Eclipse or Breaking Dawn yet, the rest of the story will contain major spoilers and I guarantee it will ruin the books for you. Please read those books first before reading the rest of my story. As a side note, the title for this chapter is a line from one of my favorite movies, "State and Main."_

**Chapter 22 – So That Happened**

Sam's POV

I was sprawled out on my couch trying to relax. I couldn't stop thinking of everything that had happened in the past couple of months.

In the time following Harry's funeral, I felt like I had gotten on an emotional roller coaster and couldn't get off. I missed Harry. I missed going to the supply store and seeing him whenever I wanted. I missed his great advice. I picked up the phone to call him one day and realized that I could no longer talk to him. The pain that caused me was unbelievable.

For the first month after he died, Emily had cried herself to sleep almost every night. I tried comforting her as best as I could, but we both mourned him so much. Something that helped ease our grief though was that Emily's sister-in-law had found out she was pregnant again. Emily had volunteered for us to watch Cora and Claire this weekend so that her brother Ronnie and sister-in-law Stacy could go out and celebrate that Stacy's first trimester was over. Funny thing was that last time we watched the girls, Ronnie and Stacy went on a second honeymoon and came back pregnant. I told Emily this and wondered what this weekend would bring. Emily just laughed.

Emily's Aunt Sue was now officially considered an Elder and was kept updated on everything going on with the pack. Although she mourned for Harry, having the other Elders there to support her helped her with her grief. They also helped her understand a lot of what was going on with her children.

As for the pack, while everyone enjoyed having Seth around, having Leah in the pack was more difficult, especially for me. For one thing, Leah hated being a werewolf. For another, Leah was hurting both from the loss of her father and also from the pain I had inflicted on her. She was still hurting over our breakup and she felt constant pain now that she knew how happy I was with Emily. She could feel my contentment every time we patrolled together.

The expression, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, seemed to be a motto that Leah embraced fervently. She was constantly bringing up things that I didn't want to remember, just to make things awkward. The rest of the pack resented it. I tolerated it, because I knew she was hurting, but there were many times when I wished that Leah wasn't part of the pack. She could feel that too which made her hurt even more and made me feel even guiltier. Anytime I had to patrol with Leah, I made sure that Seth was always with us. She tried to refrain from sharing with everyone memories of us having sex when Seth was around.

Another problem the guys were having with Leah was that they felt like they had to watch everything they said when she was around. There were some things a guy just didn't want a woman to know about. For instance, Jared was blissfully in love with Kim. He would sometimes accidentally start replaying memories of an evening he spent with her. Before Leah became a wolf, that would have resulted in the typical locker room trash talk that guys do. Now, none of the guys felt they could do that.

Another issue the guys were having was the nudity problem. We had all just gotten use to being naked around each other. Now, if we phased too quickly and ended up without clothes, we were embarrassed if Leah was around and vice versa. None of the guys wanted to see their 'sister' naked and she sure as hell didn't want to see us.

It was especially awkward for Leah and me when we had these moments. That combined with Leah's constant rehashing of our past took away a lot of the relaxed atmosphere that the pack had before, which helped build the resentment against her.

Emily and Leah, however, were slowly mending their relationship. Leah had even jokingly offered to be a bridesmaid which was an offer Emily had readily accepted. I knew that Leah hadn't been serious though when she made the offer. I knew because Leah cursed me out most of the night after the offer had been accepted. However, after seeing what Emily had gone through during the attack and because Leah was honestly trying to heal her relationship with her cousin, she didn't take back her offer to be a bridesmaid. And she never let on to Emily that she'd rather walk through the pits of hell first than be a bridesmaid at my wedding.

Seth, unlike Leah, loved being a werewolf and accepted it with a youthful exuberance that was hard to ignore. He was always so happy when he was a wolf. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that being a wolf kept him busy. When he was out patrolling and being with the guys, he didn't have to think so much about his father. Although, I knew the loss pained him greatly, Seth was always someone who found a way to enjoy life no matter what the circumstances.

He had also forgiven me for the pain I had caused Leah now that he understood why I broke up with her in the first place. I liked having him around. Leah on the other hand was a different story.

Another thing that was affecting my mood was Jacob Black. The day of Harry's funeral, Bella Swan disappeared for a couple of days only to return with her bloodsucker ex-boyfriend and the rest of the Cullen clan.

Jacob was so depressed that Bella had taken the leech back that it was unbearable to patrol with him some nights. I wasn't too happy with Bella myself. I remembered what she looked like the night I found her lost in the woods. I couldn't believe she would subject herself to that kind of pain again. Especially for a Cullen.

What was worse was that soon after the Cullens moved back to the area, Bella had hinted to Jacob that she had asked the bloodsuckers to change her into one of them. Our treaty stated that the Cullens couldn't hunt or bite a human being, thus changing someone into the monsters that they were. However, our ancestors who made the agreement neglected to add what course to follow if the person was a willing victim. Jacob was all for attacking them before anything could happen to Bella. I wanted to wait and analyze the situation more. The Elders and I stayed up many nights debating the best course of action. We were still undecided.

The only thing that recently helped Jacob through his pain was that Bella managed a visit yesterday. Apparently, the leeches didn't want Bella hanging around new werewolves because they ironically thought _we_ were the dangerous ones. They were keeping her pretty much under lock and key. While Jacob was ecstatic that Bella had rebelled to come see him, I wasn't happy when I learned that she had come to the reservation against her boyfriend bloodsucker's wishes. We already had enough to deal with when it came to the Cullens.

As it was, we almost got into a fight with them last Saturday. We had been chasing after the redheaded leech as she was running right along the treaty borderline. Unfortunately, the Cullens were also chasing her and the one Cullen who resembles a bear got too close to Paul. Paul being Paul tried to attack the Cullen bloodsucker and a fight almost broke out. If it hadn't been for the doc vampire and the large blond Cullen, who we knew could control moods, things could have gotten really out of hand.

Another thing that had me worried was that there seemed to be a murder spree going on in Seattle. Big city crime wouldn't normally have made me feel cautious, but when Jared and Paul went to do a construction job in the area they said that the stench of vampire was all over the city. It was so strong that they had had to leave the work site. Although, humans may not have been able to detect it, we knew that the city was crawling with vampires and unlike the Cullens, we knew from the news that these vampires were hunting humans.

On the positive side of things though was that since the Cullens returned to the area, Quil Ateara was now a member of the pack. Out of all the wolves, he adjusted best to the new lifestyle. I think it had more to do with the fact that he was now with Embry and Jacob again than anything else. Embry was thrilled that Quil was with them, and even Jacob sometimes snapped out of his depression when patrolling with Quil. Quil's excitement was sometimes hard to contain. I couldn't even be sorry that another life had been ruined by becoming a wolf because Quil loved it so much.

I put my hands behind my head as I stared up at the ceiling. God I was exhausted. I was really hoping that the roller coaster I felt like I was on would soon end. Considering I was only 21, I sometimes felt closer to 60. I felt so drained anymore. As I laid there, I heard a knock on the front door. Emily got up from the chair where she had sitting reading one of her trashy romance novels to go answer it.

"Aunt Emmy! Aunt Emmy" I heard Cora and Claire both scream before they raced through the house screaming "Unca Sam, Unca Sam."

Both girls ran over to the couch and jumped on me. I mustered what little energy I had to grab both girls under my arms and with a growl I jumped off the couch and began twisting them around. Both girls shrieked with laughter.

"Hey, thanks again for watching them," Ronnie said as he walked into the living room with Emily and his wife Stacy.

"It's no problem, any time," Emily said, smiling at me as I put both girls down on the floor.

"All right loves, you be good for mommy, okay?" Stacy said, reaching over to kiss and hug both girls. Cora clung to her mom. Claire tugged on my hand and said "more please."

Ronnie came over and kissed and hugged both girls and they said their goodbyes and left. Cora got a little weepy so Emily took her into the kitchen for some juice. Claire had insisted on "flying" again so I picked her up and continued to swing her around. I soon heard a noise at the front door. The pack was supposed to be meeting at the house to go for our afternoon patrol.

I could hear Leah and Seth's voices before they walked into the living room. Leah was holding Cora. It was weird how I could see Leah clearly again. I didn't know though if that was because of the pain she was in from losing her father or because she was now in the pack, and I needed to see all members clearly in case of an attack. I heard Paul and Jared's voices as they entered the kitchen.

They soon came into the living room and sat down on the couch next to Seth. Cora squirmed off Leah's lap and went up to each boy to shake their hands. Claire, who normally liked to copy her sister, seemed to be attacked by an unnatural case of shyness and hid behind my leg much to my amusement.

Paul and Jared said hi to both girls and Cora went back to sitting on Leah's lap. She began to tell Leah all about how mommy was going to have another baby and daddy wanted a boy, but mommy wanted to be surprised so they didn't know what they were having. Leah laughed and smiled, but I knew she felt some pain too. Leah was worried, because her body wasn't functioning anymore like it used to now that she was a wolf. She was worried that she might not be able to have kids someday. That was another topic she accidentally thought of while we were patrolling. It had made all of us squirm.

I heard more people enter the house and soon heard the loud voices of Embry, Jacob, and Quil. They stopped in the kitchen to talk with Emily. I heard Embry offer to help carry something for Emily. Jacob and Quil walked into the living room.

"Jacob, Quil, these are my nieces, Cora and Claire," I told them. Cora was to busy playing with Leah's now shortened hair to bother getting up and only waved lazily in the newcomers' direction. Claire on the other hand walked right over to Quil and put out her hand for him to shake it.

That was when it happened.

Quil's eyes suddenly became unfocused and his mouth dropped open. He looked like he had been hit with a sledgehammer as he walked slowly towards the little girl and grasped her hand gently in his. All of us watched in shock as we recognized the signs of someone who had just imprinted.

"Ew," Paul said quietly.

All around me I saw different looks of concern, disgust, and confusion on the pack's faces. The only one who seemed oblivious, thank god, was Cora, who kept reaching up to try to turn Leah's face back in her direction as Leah was no longer paying attention to her. Leah was too busy looking disgustingly at Quil to even feel the little girl's efforts to move her head. I heard a gasp from the corner and looked up to see Emily's worried expression.

Embry walked in behind Emily holding a tray of sandwiches. He looked around and asked, "What'd I miss?"

That seemed to snap everyone out of the shock that we were feeling. I grabbed Claire and gave her to Emily before turning back to Quil.

"You. Outside. Now!" I told him. He didn't move, his eyes still fixated on Claire who was now squirming in her aunt's arms trying to reach out across the room crying, "Qwil!"

When Quil still didn't move, I grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved him out the slider door and into the backyard.

"Okay, phase," I ordered. When he just stood there looking blank, I punched him hard in the face and watched him fall backwards. I needed him angry enough to phase and looking at the lovelorn expression on his face, I knew that he needed some extra incentive. I heard Claire start to cry inside. Quil jumped up and tried to get pass me to go to Claire. I shoved him back and that was enough to make him shake badly. I pushed him to the forest and we started to shed our clothes quickly. Quil phased first, me soon after.

"What the hell did you punch me for?" Quil demanded, finally starting to get some of his faculties back.

"Show me what just happened." I ordered and watched him fall to the ground under my command.

I didn't mean to use the Alpha voice on him, but I was pretty freaked out. He showed me what had happened when he saw Claire. I felt the pull as she suddenly became his whole world. What I didn't see or feel was anything romantic on Quil's part.

"Of course there wasn't anything romantic, what the hell kind of fucking pervert do you think I am?" Quil demanded. "I just want to protect her, keep her safe. I'm not in love with a two-year-old. That's just sick."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry and I'm sorry I punched you," I told him. "I just needed to see what was going on. I've never heard of someone imprinting on someone that young before."

We slowly phased back and went to put our clothes back on. We walked back in the house and into the living room. I looked around the room and saw that Leah, Emily, and the girls were gone. I could hear Claire crying in the kitchen. The rest of the pack was eating the sandwiches that Emily had made. No one looked at Quil when we walked in.

"Cool it guys, Quil's not looking to run off with Claire or anything," I said as they looked up. I explained what I saw through Quil's eyes and the pack soon relaxed.

"So that happened, huh." Embry snickered, getting up to elbow Quil in the ribs.

"Dude, I thought we were going to have to haul your ass off to jail or something," Jared laughed. Quil smiled slightly, but his focus was on the crying coming from the kitchen. I sighed.

"Come on Quil, I think we need to reassure some freaked out females." And we headed for the kitchen. Cora was drawing in a coloring book that was on the kitchen table. She kept looking up at her sister who was crying hysterically at this point. Claire soon quieted when she saw Quil. The hysterics went to soft whimpers.

"Qwil, I want Qwil," Claire cried, trying to reach out to the man standing next to me. I looked over at Quil and the longing in his face was almost painful.

"Em, Leah, its okay," I explained to them what Quil had shown me before saying, "Leah, why don't you go eat before the guys eat all the sandwiches. We have a long afternoon ahead of us."

"Are you sure?" Leah asked stiffly, never taking her eyes off Quil. She had moved herself between us and Emily and Claire.

"Yeah, it's fine." I reassured her. She nodded slowly before walking out of the kitchen going around the opposite side of where I was standing so she wouldn't have to get to close to me.

I walked over to Emily and kissed all three scars on her cheek before leaning over to pat Claire on the head. She was still whimpering, her eyes never leaving Quil.

"Em, why don't you let Quil take Claire for a while? I'm sure she'll calm down once he holds her." Emily looked at me, her eyes wary. I leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Remember, what you said, it's hard to resist your imprint? It's okay, he won't harm her. Trust me."

Emily slowly nodded and walked over to Quil. He held out his arms and Claire quickly jumped into them, her crying forgotten as she began to laugh with her normal joy.

"Why don't you and I see if there's any food left or if our family made pigs of themselves," Quil said. Claire smiled and started making snorting noises and saying "Piggies!" They left the room, Cora skipping happily along after them. Emily turned to me.

"A two-year-old? It's kind of weird," she said, still unsure.

"I know, but his intentions are honest." I replied before turning to pick up the phone. I soon heard the voice of Quil Ateara Sr.

"Sam, what's going on, my boy?"

"Quil, your grandson just imprinted on my two-year-old niece," I told him. I was surprised when I heard him start to chuckle. "That's funny?"

"More ironic than anything. It must run in the family. Quil's great, great, grandfather imprinted on a 5-year-old. Let me tell you, that niece of yours is sure lucky. Quil will be the best guardian that kid could ever ask for. He'll watch over her and protect her while she's still little. When she gets a little older, he'll be the greatest friend she could ever ask for, and when she becomes of age, they'll be a perfect match and will probably give me lots of beautiful great grandkids, God willing that I live that long. When it happened to my grandfather he looked out and cherished his girl and when she became of age, they fell in love, married, and produced five kids to boot. Sam, I can assure you, you have nothing to worry about."

"Okay, thanks Quil," I told him before hanging up. I felt a smile slowly creep across my face.

"Well, what did he say?" Emily asked, surprised by my expression. I repeated what old Quil had told me. A smile began to form on her face as well.

"So, maybe I can ask Ronnie to let Claire and Cora stay more often," Emily offered.

"Yeah, I don't see it as being a problem, now that we have our own babysitter." I chuckled wickedly, reaching out and grabbing my imprint close.

_**A/N – Please Review**_


	23. Date

**Chapter 23 – Date**

Sam's POV

I heard a knock on the front door and went to answer it.

"Hey Quil," I said, stepping back so that he could enter the house.

"Hey," he responded, his attention already distracted as he began to scan the room for his imprint. He had only imprinted the day before, but I figured he must be feeling anxious to see Claire again.

"Qwwwwil," Claire yelled as she ran down the hallway and jumped into Quil's waiting arms.

"Hey Claire-bear, how's it going?" Quil asked, snuggling Claire close. I quickly turned away so that Quil wouldn't see my smile. He was one of the strongest members in my pack. It was funny to see him get turned into mush by a toddler.

"Book?" Claire asked hopefully.

"Your wish is my command," he told her, holding her up above his head. Claire screamed with delight.

"Are you sure you don't mind watching Claire?" Emily asked as she walked into the kitchen.

Emily and I had decided we'd have a day date and go to the movies. We were taking Cora with us and it was a kid's movie, but I figured Cora would be so engrossed in the movie that it would be as though Emily and I were alone. Cora was four and a half, after all. Kids her age loved cartoon movies.

It was a little ridiculous how excited I was for this date. Emily and I hadn't been out in forever. I even put on my best button up shirt and khaki pants so that I could try to impress her. She had lived with the wolf garb of sweat pants for so long I wanted to show her that I could look civilized too.

"Don't worry, Em," Quil assured her. "I babysit my sister's kids all the time. Her youngest just turned one. I can take care of a two-year-old."

Stacy was picking Cora and Claire up the following morning. I knew Quil wanted to spend as much time with Claire as he could. I didn't know what he was planning on doing when Claire returned to Makah. The idea of not seeing Emily even for a day pained me.

I watched in amusement though as Quil held Claire in his arms so that she was facing the floor. He rocked her back and forth, and she started making "vroom, vroom" noises, pretending to be an airplane. I had a feeling that Quil would find a way to make his imprint situation work.

"Sue said she'd stop by and bring you some lunch," Emily told Quil before leaning over to kiss Claire on top of her head. She reached down and grabbed Cora's hand and led her out the front door.

"If you or the pack needs anything while I'm out, I'll have my cell phone on vibrate?" I told him. Jared, Paul, Seth and Leah were currently on patrol.

"Would you get out of here? Everything will be fine," Quil told me as he ran down the hallway, still holding Claire in front of him. I heard her scream "weeee" as they went.

Going outside, I hopped into the driver's seat and started the truck. Cora started humming contently to herself from the backseat as we drove. I noticed Emily kept glancing at me like she wanted to say something and then would look away.

"What?" I finally questioned.

Emily seemed to hesitate before finally blurting out, "Do you want kids?"

"What brought this up?" I asked in surprise.

"I don't know. I guess just seeing Quil look so fatherly with Claire, it got me thinking. We never discussed it before. And I know the whole point of imprinting is so you can find the best match to carrying on the bloodlines…"

"Em, I don't care what the point of imprinting is. I love you more than anything else in this world. Kids or no kids," I assured her.

"I know, but I wondered if you wanted kids, and not just as a means to pass along the genes to the next generation."

"I wouldn't want any kid of mine to have to go through what I've been through," I replied instantly.

I saw her bite her bottom lip and I realized that I was evading the question. I never really thought about having kids before. I was an only child as were my parents. I didn't have any siblings or cousins to grow up with so I was never around kids much. I glanced into my rearview mirror at Cora who was looking angelic as she happily continued to hum. I pictured Cora, but with Emily's beautiful crow black hair and gorgeous brown eyes.

"Yeah…yeah I want kids," I told Emily, grinning at her. Her answering smile lit up her face.

She was so beautiful she took my breath away. I reached out for her hand and brought it to my lips, kissing her scented skin before returning my attention to the road. We pulled into the movie theater a short time later. I parked the truck in the first available parking spot I could find, which seemed to be a mile away from the building. Who knew that the movies in Forks would be so busy on a Sunday afternoon?

I bought the tickets and we headed for the concession stand. I tried not to blow a fuse as I saw people stop what they were doing so that they could point and stare at Emily's scars. Emily just ignored them. We ordered a big bucket of popcorn and two cups of Pepsi for Emily and me. For Cora, Emily ordered gummy worms and a juice box. My eyes widened when the kid behind the counter told me the total cost. Reluctantly paying him, I started grumbling about it being highway robbery as we gathered our purchases.

"You need a friggin loan to go to the movies anymore," I complained loudly as I passed by the manager. He glared at me in return.

We soon entered the theater and sat down in our seats. Emily and I smiled at each other in perfect bliss as we waited for the movie to start. I put the popcorn bucket between my legs. Emily reached over and stuck her hand inside it, scraping the inside closest to my privates with her nails. I jerked and glared at her. She just laughed wickedly. I reached over and grabbed her hand out of the bucket, placing her one finger in my mouth. My tongue shot out and licked the salt off the tip. I heard Emily suck in her breath in return.

"I gotta pee," Cora shouted loudly, breaking into the erotic euphoria we were creating. We heard some indulgent chuckles from the people surrounding us. Emily quickly got up and took Cora's hand, shooting me a disappointed look as she made her way down the aisle.

"She's adorable," a woman behind me said. I turned and saw a lady sitting with two bored looking pre-teens.

"Thanks," I returned with a smile. The woman obviously thought Cora was mine. I had to admit, I really liked playing happy family with Emily.

The girls made it back just as the movie started. Cora slouched down in her chair and started kicking the seat in front of her. The people sitting next to the chair turned around and glared at us as they felt the impact of her kicking. Emily leaned over and whispered for Cora to sit up.

After a while, Cora started asking questions about the movie. Her questions kept getting louder and louder until finally the woman sitting behind us made an angry "shh" noise. Guess she didn't think Cora was so adorable now. Emily leaned down again and told Cora that she needed to be quiet. Cora was silent for all of five minutes before she decided she'd had enough of the movie. She got up and started pacing.

"Maybe we should leave," Emily whispered to me just as we heard the sound of a popcorn bucket being kicked over followed by a "dammit!"

I looked over and saw a man sitting a few seats down from us, glaring in our direction. With my natural night vision, I saw him pick up an empty popcorn bucket off the floor. I closed my eyes as Emily went to grab Cora who was now saying "dammit" repeatedly.

Several "shhs" came from all over the theater. I got out of my chair and maneuvered around Emily who was making her way back to her seat, dragging a now silent Cora. I made my way over to the man, hunching down as much as I could. I heard angry sighs from the people in the row behind me as they moved back and forth, trying to see around my bulky frame.

"Sorry about that," I told the guy. "Do you want me to get you another popcorn?"

"Forget it," the man sniffed. "Why don't you keep your kid on a leash?"

The idea of any kid of mine needing a leash made me see red. I contemplated ripping the guy's arm off.

"Hey, thanks for teaching her the new word, by the way. What the hell kind of language is that to say around a kid?" I growled which earned even more "shhs" from the crowded theater.

Next to me, the little parrot started chanting "hell, hell." I sighed and turned around, heading back to my seat much to the annoyance of the people in the row behind me. I heard the man call me a "prick."

I began to shake as I sat back down in my seat. Emily reached over and squeezed my hand. I looked at her and saw her glaring at me in warning. I focused on the characters on screen, but I'd been so busy watching Cora disturb everyone that the story was now completely lost on me. I grabbed my popcorn bucket and threw it back on my lap.

"Unca Sam? Unca Sam?" Cora started screeching, standing in front of me to pull on my hand. I heard more angry "shhs," a "shut-up," and even a "shut the hell up," from someone in the back row.

"Would you freaking take her out already?" someone from the front yelled angrily.

"Unca Sam, I don't feel so good," Cora said a second before she threw up all over my best shirt.

You could hear a pin drop in the theater. Even the characters on screen seemed to have gone silent and then all hell broke loose. The woman and her children behind us started screaming and jumped up, running out of the theater so fast you would've thought vampires were after them. Emily quickly grabbed Cora, who was now crying hysterically, and took her out of the theater.

The guy whose popcorn Cora had kicked over, quickly grabbed his empty bucket and upchucked into it as the fumes from Cora's mess hit him. When the smell of double bouts of vomit hit the theater, the rest of the audience quickly emptied out yelling and cursing as they went.

I sat in my saturated shirt, trying not to let the smell get to me, but the scent of puked up gumming worms accompanied with the strange scent of sour milk made me start to gag. My throat began to go into convulsions as I fought to keep the bile down. I quickly pulled my shirt out of my pants and folded it up so that the vomit wouldn't splatter everywhere.

The movie stopped and the lights came on as a crew of teenagers came into the theater with a bucket, mop, and a bottle of disinfectant. A couple of the teenage girls glared at me like it was all my fault that Cora had just exploded. One pimply boy was snickering softly.

It was with great relish that I put the bucket of puke filled popcorn on the floor and stood up. Although I honestly tried to prevent it as best as I could, I heard some overflow from my shirt hit the chair in front of me with a squish. Pimples stopped laughing as he cradled his bottle of disinfectant close to his chest.

I followed the popcorn man out of the theater. A girl was handing out free passes, giving the man one and asking him to please come back at a different time to see the show again. Her hand slowly lowered as she saw me. I wondered if she somehow figured that I was with the Exorcist child. The way I was holding my shirt out from me, still folded up to avoid spillage may have given her a big clue.

I walked out into the hallway and made my way to the bathroom. From the way people were swerving out of my way and giving me dirty looks, I felt like a creature in a horror film. Even when I turned into a wolf the first time, I hadn't felt like as big of a freak as I did right at this current moment.

I walked into the bathroom, carefully trying not to jostle the rest of the load in my shirt. I walked over to the sink and dumped what was left of the mess. It looked like Pimples was going to have to clean up in here, too. I peeled off the shirt and threw it in the trash. Dammit, I would have to go shopping again soon. I took a load of paper towels and wet them down, squirting a bunch of soap in them, before trying to wash the stench off of my chest. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the smell out of my nose. Freaking extra senses!

I wiped the spots that had landed on my jeans. Thank God I had been holding that bucket of popcorn at the time. It seemed to have caught a lot of the mess, because my jeans weren't bad. They stunk, but I could still wear them.

I walked out of the bathroom shirtless, but kept my head held high. A group of girls watched me walk by, their eyes bulging as they took in my abs. My ears burned as I heard a cat call. I saw the manager who had glared at me earlier head in my direction.

"Excuse me sir, we require shirts here. I'm going to have to ask you to leave," the man said, before backing away as he caught the smell coming off of me. He looked at me and then in the direction of the theater that Cora had just decimated.

"No problem," I assured him and walked quickly towards the exit. Emily and Cora were standing next to the door. Emily looked like she was going to cry she was laughing so hard. Cora was bouncing around in Emily's arms.

"Unca Sam, I'm feeling better. Ice cream?" she implored. I looked over at Emily who smiled brightly at me.

"Can she handle it?" I asked Em.

"I think she just got a little too excited in there. She should be okay."

"Okay then, why not," I told Cora and she cheered. "Let's get Claire and Quil first and we'll go get some ice cream."

We left the theater, never looking back at the disaster we left in our wake as we headed for home. We found Quil and Claire both passed out on the couch. Claire was lying on top of Quil's chest with her face buried into his neck, his arm wrapped protectively around her. Both had their mouths open and were snoring softly. A Dr. Suess book was lying open on the floor.

"Claire, Quil, guess what?" Cora shouted, startling them both awake.

Quil sat up quickly, throwing Claire behind him protectively. He looked like he was going to attack for a minute before he realized it was us. Claire just giggled and waved.

Cora eyed them both excitedly before saying importantly, "I got sick at the movies, but I'm feeling better now, and we're gonna get some ice cream."

Quil looked at me, his forehead forming into a frown as he took in my shirtless appearance. I was sure with his heightened sense of smell, he could pick up the stench that was on me. Sure enough, his nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Don't ask," I told him. "I'm going to take a quick shower and then we're going on an ice cream run. You want to come?"

Quil nodded as Claire wrapped her arms around his neck from behind and demanded a horsey ride.

"So, how'd it go?" Emily asked as Quil got up from the couch making horse noises as he carried Claire around the room.

"Great," Quil responded before adding in relief, "Sue came over just as Claire needed a diaper change."

I laughed as I left the room. I entered my bedroom and picked out some fresh clothes, before going into the bathroom to take a shower. I had just dried off and was pulling on my pants when I heard a soft knock on the door.

"Sam, can I come in for a second?" Emily asked softly.

"Sure," I answered, opening the door. Emily came in and shut the door behind her. I looked at her in surprise. There wasn't a lot of room in the bathroom.

"So did Cora's projectile vomit throw you off from wanting kids?" Emily joked, but I could see the concern in her eyes. I laughed.

"If they look anything like you, I'll give you all the kids you want," I told her, bringing her close so that I could kiss her on the lips. I pulled back slightly and muttered against her mouth, "Of course, you get to clean up any puke. I think I've had enough to last a lifetime."

I heard her giggle as she pulled away to reach up and caress the side of my face.

"I love you, Sam Uley," Emily told me and I didn't doubt the love I could see shining in her eyes. I picked her up and sat her on the sink and kissed her until we were both breathless.

There was a loud banging on the door and Cora shouted, "Unca Sam, you done yet?"

"Be right out," I yelled back before kissing Emily once more. Cupping her one cheek in my hand, I told her, "I love you, too. However, if the girls are here the next time we go out on a date, let's leave Cora with Quil."


	24. Practice

**Chapter 24 – Practice**

Sam's POV

The pack walked slowly towards the clearing where we were meeting the Cullens. All of us were there, including our two newest wolves Collin and Brady, who had changed last week. They were younger than Seth at the tender age of 13, but I figured the bigger our numbers the less chance of a surprise attack by the Cullens.

Jacob seemed to cautiously trust them. I wasn't so willing. They wouldn't have been expecting our numbers in case they did try anything. I had ordered the entire pack to keep that information between us.

Last week, around the time Collin and Brady had changed, a new vampire had come to the area and had broken into Bella Swan's house taking some of her things. Jacob had gone to investigate, but he hadn't recognized the scent. We hadn't been happy to learn that a vampire had been that close to us and had gotten through undetected. Bella had been lucky she'd been spending the night at the Cullen home during the break in. Not that that fact had pleased Jacob.

What was confusing was that the leech hadn't touched Charlie who had been sleeping in the house at the time. Knowing that Charlie had been that close to danger had been very disturbing to Jacob. Billy and Charlie were best friends and Jacob had probably seen more of Charlie growing up than Bella had.

The incident had led to uneasy truce between us and the Cullens. We ended up agreeing on new treaty borderlines. They were allowed on land that they hadn't been allowed before and vice versa. We were now patrolling closer to Forks than we ever had while the Cullens were in the area.

We had to be very careful not to get too close to the each other though. We almost had an incident the other day. I'd been running everyone on tight shifts, making sure everyone covered our newly established borders. Jacob had insisted on covering the Swan house, but I didn't think it was necessary as we knew the Cullens had ramped up their security around the home. So Jacob was doing coverage on his own.

The other night Paul was coming back from visiting Jacob when he ran into the vampire named Emmett. Emmett had been on his way to guard the Swan house for his brother Edward. Paul and Emmett had gotten too close. They still had a lot of hostility from their last meeting and tempers resumed. If Quil hadn't been running back from one of his evening jaunts to Makah, I'd have hated to think what would have happened.

Quil was dealing with enough on his own. Every night before or after he was done patrolling, he would make a run to Makah to check on his imprint. I hated the idea of him going alone, but I didn't stop him, knowing that I would do the same thing in his position.

He couldn't go a day without seeing Claire, it was too painful. He would sneak over and sit in the woods that were near Ronnie's house. Whenever I patrolled and could see into Quil's thoughts, he was always at Makah any more, safely hidden in the trees just listening to Claire's soft breathing as she slept at night. If he was really lucky, he sometimes caught glimpses of her.

Quil was actually the reason we were late coming to meet the Cullens. He had gotten back late from Makah. We had learned tonight that a large group of newborn vampires were planning on coming to the area. Bella believed that the newborns were the ones pillaging through Seattle raising the city's death toll. She thought that they were linked to the same person who had broken into her house. She also believed that the redheaded bloodsucker was the one behind everything. Her leech boyfriend wasn't so sure and had wondered if it was some vampire organization named the Volturi that he had apparently pissed off a few months ago.

Jacob, Quil, and Embry had been attending Bella's graduation party at the Cullen house earlier this evening when they learned the news of the impending attack. It was the reason that we were currently on our way to meet the Cullens.

I wasn't even sure why the guys had bothered to attend the party. Much to most of the pack's mockery, Jacob had kissed Bella the other day and she in turn had punched him, breaking her hand on his face. While the pack didn't think it was funny that Bella had been hurt, they had thought it was hilarious that Jacob actually thought that Bella was in love with him.

Leah and I were the only ones who didn't see anything funny about the situation. Leah didn't understand what Jacob saw in the leech lover as she called Bella. If there was one thing Leah hated more than me, it was the Cullens. She blamed becoming a werewolf on the Cullens' return to the area. And she thought it was disgusting that Bella was even allowed in La Push.

As for myself, I was worried about Jacob. I thought that Bella cared for Jacob, maybe even more than she realized. I saw the way she was with him a couple of weeks ago when Jacob had brought her to a bonfire we'd had. While Billy and Old Quil had retold our legends, I'd watched Bella out of the corner of my eye. Her body language had definitely suggested that she was more attuned to Jacob than she knew.

I was careful to not think of these thoughts while patrolling with Jacob though, because I didn't want to give him false hope. When I thought of the constant pain that Bella had been in while her bloodsucker had been gone, I knew that Jacob didn't have a chance. Especially given the fact that now that her boyfriend was back, Bella was slightly out of focus to me, Jared, and Quil. She was truly happy that she had the leech back in her life. If a regular person could imprint, then Bella showed all the signs of having done so on her vampire boyfriend.

But how did you tell that to Jacob, was looked 25, but was still a teenager with full teenage emotions and reactions to things. So while he thought he had spent a tender moment on the beach with Bella before she broke her hand on his face, and the pack thought he had fallen off the deep delusional end, the situation only made me sad. There was nothing but heartache ahead for Jacob.

However, Jacob's need to protect Bella, and the rest of the pack's need to kill vampires, was what led us to this unruly alliance with the Cullens. They'd offered to let us watch them practice as they trained for battle. They wanted us to learn the movements of a vampire in fight mode and the best strategies to destroy them. We had our own methods on how to destroy leeches, but I wanted to see what they had to say, plus seeing the Cullens in action might give us an idea of how to fight them if the need ever arose.

We walked closer to the clearing.

"Damn, did you ever see anything like it?" The large Cullen, Emmett, said as we approached.

"What is it?" I heard Bella ask. "I can't see."

We were relieved to see Bella still in human form. Jacob had told us that the Cullens were supposed to have changed her into a vampire on her graduation day. Maybe they finally realized how stupid the idea was and had changed their minds.

"The pack has grown," Bella's mind-reader boyfriend Edward replied. "Fascinating."

The vampire doctor stepped forward as we finally broke out from the woods and stopped along the border of the clearing.

"Welcome."

"Thank you." I replied and heard Edward repeat what I said. It was eerie knowing that the leech had access to all of our thoughts.

"You got that right," Paul mumbled. I focused my gaze on Edward.

"We will watch and listen, but no more. That is the most we can ask of our self-control." I told him and listened to him repeat what I said to his family.

I didn't want the pack to get any closer until I knew that it was safe. The scent coming from the field was burning our noses painfully and the urge to attack was barely containable. It was truly unbelievable and against every instinct we possessed to be this close to a vampire and not attack.

"That is more than enough," Doctor Vamp responded to what I had told them. "My son Jasper has experience in this area. He will teach us how they fight, how they are to be defeated. I'm sure you can apply this to your own hunting style."

"They are different from you?" I asked.

The doctor nodded. "They are all very new-only months old to this life. Children, in a way. They will have no skill or strategy, only brute strength. Tonight their numbers stand at twenty. Ten for us, ten for you – it shouldn't be difficult. The numbers may go down. The new ones fight amongst themselves."

A ripple of excitement rippled through the pack and I saw the restless movement from my brothers and Leah.

"We can take all of them out, if they want." Jared offered.

"And maybe a few Cullens along the way," Leah whispered.

"We're not here to fight the Cullens." Jacob reminded her and they started to bicker.

"Enough," I told them before responding to the Cullens, "We are willing to take more than our share, if necessary."

Doctor Vamp smiled at that. "We'll see how it plays out."

"Do you know when and how they'll arrive?" I asked and waited as Edward repeated my question.

"They'll come across the mountains in four days, in the late morning. As they approach, Alice will help us intercept their path."

"Thank you for the information. We will watch." I told them and the pack either laid or sat down.

The mood manipulator that we knew was Jasper stepped forward. We saw teeth marks all over his body. Another restless ripple went through the pack. This vampire was a warrior. He would be a problem if there ever was one.

"Carlisle's right," we heard him say, his back to us. "They'll fight like children…"

He continued to instruct the Cullens. We watched them practice fight. Jasper demonstrated on Emmett first and had him from behind in a matter of minutes. He then moved on to the psychic vampire. She moved so quickly that we couldn't help but be in awe of her.

We watched them for several more hours. Quil and Paul kept getting twitchy and wanted to join in the fighting. Well, Quil wanted to practice. Paul wanted to attack Emmett.

"Let it go dude." Jared said to Paul with a sigh.

"So I wonder who shares a father with Embry. It'd have to be Quil, Jacob, or Sam." Leah randomly thought and pain shot through the whole tribe.

"Jeez, shut-up Leah." Seth said, turning to glare at his sister.

It was a forbidden thought. It was something we all wondered but didn't discuss. Embry's mom wasn't Quileute, which meant his father had to be. The person Embry thought was his father couldn't be his biological dad because that man was from Makah. Given the way the magic worked, it could only mean that either Quil, Jacob, or my father had also fathered Embry. Knowing what a sleaze my father was, there was a good chance that Embry was my brother. Jacob and Quil were too embarrassed to ask their dads.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I think that out loud?" Leah asked sarcastically, obviously still angry with me for telling her and Jacob to stop bickering. That reminder set Leah off again.

She began to picture the first time that we kissed. We had been lying in the cab of my truck looking up at the stars when I had made my move. I had been nervous and had hit my head against hers. It hadn't stopped us and I had made it to second base that night.

Seth began to repeat his time tables furiously and loudly. Jared started making gagging noises. Embry started singing "Werewolves of London." Finally, to our relief, Jasper turned and said they were done and we were welcome back the next night.

"Yes, we'll be here." I told them. I suddenly wondered if we should smell each one of Cullens so that we'd be able to tell them apart from the other bloodsuckers during the battle. Edward repeated my random thought.

"Certainly, whatever you need." Dr. Vamp said.

The entire pack moved forward. I moved towards the doctor first sniffing his hand. The scent burned fiercely and I winced. The rest of the pack twitched in response. I moved on to the next person. Seth was left between Jasper and the doctor and he whined at being in that vulnerable position.

"It's okay Seth," Jacob assured him.

I finished sniffing each one. God, did it burn my nose, all of our noses. Jacob soon lost his focus as he turned his head and saw that Bella Swan was looking at him. He stuck out his tongue and she giggled. He walked over to her and let her touch his fur. I looked over and saw her boyfriend watching them. He looked like a frozen statue. Jacob suddenly reached out and licked the side of Bella's face.

"Ew gross Jake," Bella complained.

"You got that right lady." Paul said.

"I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth," Leah stated.

"Jacob, don't piss off the boyfriend, all right?" I told him.

"Sure, sure," Jacob responded, not even caring.

We slowly backed away, not taking our eyes off the Cullens. As soon as we were out of sight, we took off with the exception of Jacob, Quil, and Embry. Jacob wanted to stay behind and work on the details of protecting Bella during the fight. We had already decided to leave Collin and Brady behind during the battle as they were too young to participate. It would probably be a good idea to leave Bella on the rez.

We did a quick patrol. Once we were finished, I was headed home for a bite to eat before doing a longer shift when Jacob popped in my head. He told me that they planned to take Bella into the mountains and he was going to have Seth stay with her. I was fine with that. I didn't like the idea of Seth being so close to the action. He was all for fighting, but I refused to consider it. I reached my house and phased back.

"Hi," Emily said, looking up from the book she was reading in the living room chair as I walked in.

"Hey," I said, leaning over to kiss the top of her head before heading towards the kitchen. I grabbed the plate out of the stove where Emily had left it for me and began to eat hungrily. I began to think over everything we had witnessed tonight.

"You seem preoccupied." Emily said from the kitchen entryway.

"Yeah…a lot on my mind," I mumbled.

"Anything I can help you with?" She offered.

"There's going to be a battle. The Cullen psychic saw a large group of bloodsuckers coming to this area."

"How big," Emily whispered. I was busy thinking of strategy and didn't hear her until she repeated. "Sam, how big?"

"Right now, there are about 20 of them, but they keep attacking each other so there might be less." I answered, getting up to wash off my dish, before heading back to the living room.

"They're attacking each other? Are they that out of control?" Emily asked as she followed me.

"Yeah, they're newborns, they have as much control as a new wolf."

"Are they as strong?"

"Very," I replied, half paying attention.

"Sam?" Emily said. The way she said it broke through my preoccupation. I looked over at her. Her face was pale, her scars standing out.

"Sam, I don't want you to go."

"I have to Em." I said in a surprised voice. She just shook her head.

"Please."

"Em, I can't let my pack go ahead without me. I can't do that Em."

"I can't…I can't go through it again." She whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't lose you too. I just lost Harry and now you're telling me that you and my cousins are going to face down murderous, out of control vampires?"

"Between us and the Cullens, it's not going to be a problem. Besides Seth isn't going to fight" I assured her.

"Please don't go."

"I have to."

She looked at me and then nodded slowly, but I could see the tears in her eyes before she turned and walked stiffly into the bedroom, shutting the door softly behind her.

I looked at it for a minute torn between the need to comfort my imprint and my loyalty to my pack. I sighed before heading towards the backyard to do my nightly patrol.

_A/N – Thanks to everyone who responded and left me a review. Please keep the feedback flowing._


	25. Emily's Seduction

_A/N – I'm switching back to Emily's perspective for this one folks. Please be advised mature content in this chapter._

**Chapter 25 – Emily's Seduction**

Emily's POV

"So…I was thinking of going up to Makah today?" I told Sam stiffly, not really looking at him as I put some eggs and toast on the table.

It had been like this for the past few days. Ever since he had told me about the impending danger. There was an awkwardness in our relationship that had never been there before. I knew it was my fault too.

I had told him the day after he had mentioned the upcoming battle that it was okay with me for him to go. I knew that if I truly begged and pleaded he wouldn't go, but I didn't want to use my imprint power like that. I knew that he would do anything for me if it meant preventing me from being in pain. He would stay if I revealed to him how much the idea of him going off to this fight terrified me. But how could I live with myself if I made him choose between me and the pack. Furthermore, I knew the pack was going to need his strength tomorrow.

But in truth, I was petrified that I was going to lose him. The psychic vampire had predicted that the newborns would be in the area tomorrow morning. I had stayed up most of last night tossing and turning with worry, although I had pretended to be asleep when Sam had come back from patrolling. It had been like that every night since I had learned what was ahead for my wolf family.

"Don't you have to work today?" Sam said, looking at me uncomfortably. He was being careful to not do anything to upset me and my heart wanted to bleed over how stilted our conversation was.

"I asked for it off. I thought I'd go up and see my parents and Ronnie and Stacy."

"Em," Sam replied carefully. "I don't think that'd be a good idea…there is a lot of vampire activity in the area right now—"

"I was going to invite Quil." I interrupted. "Claire has been asking for him almost every day since they last saw each other. Stacy said Claire's been really crabby."

Now that I told him, I felt an almost desperate need to escape. I felt like the walls were closing in on me and if I didn't leave right then and there, I'd lose it.

"Okay then, let me call Quil," Sam said, smiling sadly at me. He picked up the phone and dialed Quil's number. They talked for a minute before Sam put his hand over the receiver.

"What time do you want to go?"

"Now." I said without hesitation. Sam repeated what I said.

"Do you want him to come here or do you want to pick him up?"

"Tell him I'll come get him and I'm on my way."

"Okay," Sam relayed my message and then hung up. We just stared at each other for a moment before Sam looked down at the floor. "So, I'm not patrolling late tonight. I should be done around 10 pm. I thought maybe we could watch a movie or something. Make a date of it."

"Fine, whatever," I replied woodenly and watched pain flash across his face. I looked away, saying, "I should go get Quil."

I went and grabbed my purse and the truck's keys and then turned back to him. I hesitated for a moment and then ran over to him, jumping up to wrap my arms around his neck so that I could hug him tightly. He wrapped his arms around my waist and tried to bring me in closer, but I had let go and pushed back. Not meeting his eyes, I walked out the door and hopped in the truck.

I made it out of our long drive and turned off on another road before I pulled over to rest my head on the steering wheel. I felt the tears swim in my eyes but I used all my strength to push them back. The depression I had felt since Sam had told me he was going to fight a large group of crazed bloodsucking vampires, hit me like a tidal wave.

I could lose him. I couldn't even breathe at the thought. I had just lost Harry. If anything happened to Sam tomorrow, I didn't think I'd be able to live. The worry and stress had been crushing me badly the last few days.

And I couldn't relax around Sam. I knew that it was a defense mechanism. It was like when Harry died. I had made myself completely numb to avoid the pain. I was doing the same thing with Sam. I was pushing away to protect myself from being hurt, and it was slowly killing us both. I didn't know how to stop it either.

I pulled myself together and drove the rest of the way to Quil's. My jaw was so tight that it popped when I unwilling smiled when I saw Quil. As soon as he saw me, he jumped up enthusiastically from where he had been sitting on his porch steps to race to my truck. He hopped in the car with an excited jump.

"Hey Em! Thanks for inviting me. I was going to run over to Makah anyway, but now I'll get to see Claire face to face." Quil blabbered happily.

"No problem. Stacy says Claire's been a problem child ever since she came here. She really misses you."

"Yeah, I miss her too," he said, going quiet as his eyebrows pulled together in a frown.

"Maybe we can convince Stacy and Ronnie to let you come to Makah on your own. You know, to help watch the girls or something? I'm sure Stacy would love the help, especially as her pregnancy advances." I offered.

"You think they would let me?" Quil asked hopefully.

"Well, I can suggest it and see what happens."

"That'd be great, thanks Emily."

I nodded and we drove some more. Quil looked over at me a few times thoughtfully. I knew he must know that Sam and I were having some difficulties. I'm sure the whole pack knew. Leah had offered to take me shopping yesterday, and I had jumped at the chance to get out of the house. Leah hated shopping so I knew she was probably just trying to help me have some fun and relax. She hadn't mentioned the upcoming fight and I was grateful.

"Em, you know you have nothing to worry about, right?" Quil quietly said. "I watched the Cullens practice the other night with Jacob and Embry. They outnumbered us and never bothered us once. Plus, they know what they're doing. So do we."

I felt my hands tighten on the steering wheel. "Quil, I know you mean well, but I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"Okay."

I turned on the radio. Guns-N-Roses, _Welcome to the Jungle,_ was on. How fitting. We drove the rest of the almost two hour drive in silence. We reached the reservation, and I headed straight to Ronnie's house. The front door opened and I could see Stacy there with Claire standing in front of her, peering out the screen door. As soon as she saw Quil she started jumping and squealing "Qwwwil."

We got out of the truck and headed toward the house, Quil eagerly rushing forward. Stacy opened the door and Claire ran out and went straight into Quil's arms where he proceeded to lift her up in the air, throwing her a little bit to her ecstatic glee.

"Stacy, this is my friend Quil. Quil, Stacy." I introduced them as Quil held Claire close. Stacy looked at him in amazement.

"So you're Quil. Claire hasn't stopped talking about you since she came back from La Push." Stacy said, shaking Quil's hand.

"Nice to meet you." Quil responded.

"So where's Ronnie?" I asked.

"Oh, he and Ed from next door took their hunting rifles and are out in the woods somewhere. They keep seeing some kind of wolf or bear coming around at night. They went out to see if they could find it." Stacy said rolling her eyes. I glanced over at Quil, but he was carefully avoiding looking at me.

Quil and Claire went into the backyard where there was a swing set and sandbox set up. Cora was on the swing but jumped off to give Quil and me a quick hug before returning back to her swing. Quil put Claire down on the ground. She grabbed his hand, leading him to the sandbox. I watched with amusement as Claire ordered Quil to sit in the middle of the box. She proceeded to fill her little pink bucket with sand and then poured it over his legs. Good thing he was wearing shorts today.

"He certainly likes kids, doesn't he?" Stacy said.

"Yeah…hey, I was going to mention. If you ever need a babysitter or anything, Quil would be happy to help."

"Why would he want to drive all the way up here to babysit?"

"Quil loves kids. I guess you could say he bonded with the girls when they were down at my house last time. I can vouch for him too. You know how Sam is considered the chief of the Quileute tribe? One of the duties of being chief is to act as a bodyguard. Sam and a group of guys on the rez protect the tribe."

"Protect it how?"

"Well…" Oh, I had to be careful on this one. "A guy from here came down to the reservation a few months ago selling Meth. Sam and his protectors told the guy to leave and told him not to sell his stuff at Makah either."

"I wondered what happened to that guy. He was staying with a girl who lives here and then a few months ago he moved out and we haven't seen him since." Stacy said, before looking at Quil. "So is Quil one of the protectors? He's certainly tall enough to be a bodyguard."

"Yes. And as Sam is chief, Quil is very protective of me and my family, especially the girls. Trust me. You couldn't have a better person to look after them. He'd look after them like his life depended on it." I smiled inwardly at how true that statement was, especially where Claire was concerned.

"Well, I'd love some help," Stacy said before biting her lip, "but I don't want to take advantage of him."

"Believe me, it wouldn't be a problem for him."

Stacy smiled in relief, then frowned saying, "I don't know how Ronnie would feel about a guy looking after his two girls."

"I'll tell him what I told you and if he needs even more assurance that Quil is trustworthy, then he can talk to Aunt Sue."

"How's she doing?"

"Okay. She's considered one of the tribal Elders now. Leah and Seth are struggling over losing Harry. They've been having some difficulties lately, but Aunt Sue has had a lot of support with them. Especially from Uncle Harry's two best friends, Billy Black and Charlie Swan."

The reminder of Bella's father brought on another wave of depression. Stacy looked at me oddly but didn't say anything. My parents came over and Ronnie soon returned as well. Shockingly, he had no luck finding the mysterious wolf.

The day turned into evening. We had just finished an early supper when my mom, Stacy, Quil, the girls, and I decided to go for a walk on the beach. Stacy had told Ronnie my suggestion of having Quil as a babysitter. He hadn't been thrilled at first, but when Stacy threatened to break down into tears if he didn't give in, he backed down instantly. If there was one thing Ronnie hated, it was upsetting his hormonal, pregnant wife.

Quil and the girls walked ahead of us. Cora kept running to the edge of the water and then would run quickly away when a wave got too close. Claire was content to just hold onto Quil's hand, even though he had to walk hunched over so that his hand could reach down to her tiny height.

"So, what's going on Emily?" My mother asked me.

"What do you mean?"

"Normally, I can't drag you away from Sam and La Push. And now you come up here looking all heartbroken. Did you and Sam have a fight?"

"Sort of."

"Anything we can do to help?" Stacy offered.

"No, but thank you though." I told them both. My mom stopped me with her hand before cupping my face with both of her hands.

"Emily, if there is one thing I've learned from your accident and Harry's death it's that life is too short to not enjoy every second. You love Sam and any fool can see that he is crazy in love with you. Don't waste your life being angry."

My mom leaned in and kissed my scarred cheek before letting me go. I turned back and looked at Quil who was now holding Claire up in the air, spinning her in circles. Cora was running laps around the pair. Both of the girls' childish laughter filled the air, making me smile. Quil looked so happy being with his imprint. He wasn't wasting time worrying about tomorrow or the future. He was just enjoying the moment.

The depression I had been feeling suddenly lifted off me as I realized I didn't want to waste another moment. I trusted Sam with all my heart. If he told me I didn't have anything to worry about, then I was going to believe him. I smiled, a real carefree smile, for the first time in days as I turned to my mom.

"Thanks Mom," I said, reaching over to hug her tight. I turned and hugged Stacy too. We walked over to Quil who had just sat Claire down on the sand.

"Quil, do you mind if we left? Sam and I are supposed to have a date tonight, and I want do some errands first."

Something in my voice must have alerted him, because he looked up and smiled. "Sure."

Claire began to cry at this. "No Qwil, stay. Don't go, my Qwil."

"Hey, none of that Claire-Bear. I don't want you to be sad, okay?" Quil said, going down on his knees to hug Claire tight.

"Quil, if you're not busy next Saturday, Ronnie and I were going to do some shopping for the baby's room. Would you want to come up and watch the girls?" Stacy asked.

"Yeah, I'd love to." Quil answered excitedly. Claire shouted. "Yay!"

We walked back to Ronnie's house and said our goodbyes. Quil and Ronnie shook hands. While Ronnie was leery still of the idea of Quil watching the girls, they had discovered over the course of the day that they were both Seattle Seahawks fanatics so it helped build a bridge between the two.

We soon reached the truck. Quil hugged Claire goodbye and told her to be good for her parents while I gave my family hugs. We hopped in the truck and headed for La Push. We laughed and joked the whole way back. When Quil wasn't saying, "Claire said" this or that, we would sing to whatever song came on the radio. Quil wasn't the world's best singer and it was very funny.

By the time we got back it was just after 8 pm. We had stopped in Forks first so that I could get a few groceries before I dropped Quil off and headed for home. I had decided how I wanted to spend this night with Sam, and I couldn't wait to get things set up.

I got to the house and grabbed some thick blankets and took them outside. We were having a rare nice evening with no rain expected until the early morning hours. I set the thickest blanket on the grass and put the other one over it for extra cushioning. I then went and got several large decorative pillows and threw them on top of the blankets near the edge closest to the house. Next I dragged my two large candle stands outside and put them on either side of the blankets. I took the patio table and moved it to a position so that it was a makeshift headboard.

I set three vanilla scented candles on top of the table. I had read in an article once that vanilla was supposed to be a major turn on for guys. I made sure that the candles in the candle stands were vanilla too. I grabbed the two tiki torches that we had next to the porch and put them in the ground on either side of the patio table.

I stepped back to admire my work. It looked like a cross between a Hawaiian get-a-way and a harem out of Arabian Nights. Giggling, I went inside and made my way to the kitchen. I pulled out my groceries and started to cut up the strawberries and cheese that I had bought. I put them on a plate along with some grapes. I hoped Sam wasn't too hungry for food tonight, because I definitely had other plans. I grabbed the bottle of non-alcoholic wine I had also gotten at the store and opened it, placing it in an ice filled bowl. I grabbed two wine glasses out of the cupboard, put everything on a platter, and then went to take my shower.

I got dressed in a black lace lingerie gown and sprayed myself with my favorite honeysuckle perfume. I looked at the small clock in the bathroom. It was almost 10 o'clock. I ran into the kitchen and grabbed the bucket of wine and carried it quickly outside. I went back in and grabbed the tray of food. I took it outside and placed it next to the wine. I grabbed a lighter and lit the candles and tiki torches.

I poured the wine and then began to arrange myself on the blanket, trying out several sexy poses. I decided to lay somewhat on my side, leaning on my one arm while drinking a glass of wine with the other. It was a little chilly out, but I knew I'd be warm soon enough. I sipped my wine as I stared in the direction of the woods I knew Sam would be coming from. I just got myself settled when I heard Sam slowly walk into the yard, wearing nothing but cutoff shorts.

"Hi, how was your day?" I asked, watching his eyes widen as he took in what I was wearing.

"Em…what…" he stuttered and I gave him my most seductive smile.

"I decided I don't want to watch a movie tonight, if that's all right?" I said, getting up to walk over to him and grabbing his hand.

I took him back to the blanket and pushed on his shoulders. He complied and sat down, and I laid back down in my pose. I turned away from him and grabbed his glass of wine and handed it to him. He drank it down in one gulp never taking his eyes off me. I laughed softly and poured him another glass.

"I take it you had a good trip to Makah?" Sam asked.

"Very good."

"What'd you do?"

"I talked Stacy and Ronnie into letting Quil babysit more often."

"I'm sure Quil appreciated that." Sam said smiling softly.

"Yes," I said reaching over to grab a strawberry off the plate. I leaned in and placed it near his mouth. He bit into it and some juice poured down him chin. I scooted over closer to him and licked it off his chin before pulling back slightly.

"And then my mother reminded me that life is too short and we needed to enjoy every moment."

"Em," Sam said reaching out to grab the side of my neck. His thumb caressed the scars on my face. "Nothing is going to happen to me tomorrow."

"I know that now. Because today I realized that if you told me not to worry, I'm not going too."

"Good, because I don't want you to be scared."

"I won't be." I responded before pushing him back against the pillows.

I climbed up so that I was leaning over him, my one leg going between his. I could feel his need for me. I reached down and gently caressed him through his shorts, enjoying the sound of his groan in return. I reached up and took my lacy gown off before reaching down to pull his pants off. He lifted his hips slightly so that I could slide them off easily. After I pushed both of our clothes off to the side, I leaned down and pressed myself against his chest.

"I'm sorry I've been such a bitch lately." I whispered, kissing his mouth.

"I never thought that. I knew you were worried." Sam said tenderly, love and desire burning in his eyes. He was so beautiful in the candle light. He tried to pull me close, but I took his arms and placed them back down against the blanket.

"Tonight is for you." I said into his ear, before moving down to kiss his neck. I then moved my mouth slowly down his chest before kissing my way down even further…

A few hours later, the gentle rain woke us up. I had been laying across Sam's chest his arms wrapped securely around me. He rolled me on my back and entered me quickly. The rain continued to beat down on us and I heard thunder off in the distance. It was one of the most erotic moments I had ever experienced. I felt like I was flying to the sky when we both exploded with pleasure. Laughing softly, Sam carefully withdrew and picked me up to carry me into the house.

_A/N – I know you were expecting the war in this chapter, but I had to do some more Sam/Emily, Quil/Claire fluff. Hope you enjoyed it because lot's of drama coming next._


	26. War

A/N - This chapter had been updated from the original version. All wolf dialogue is in italics. Warning - this chapter will contain strong language. 

-XXX-

**Chapter 26 – War**

Sam's POV

I looked down at the note I had just written Emily.

_Remember, don't worry. Everything's going to be fine._

_I love you. _

_Sam_

After giving it a second read through, I crept back into our bedroom where Emily was still sleeping and put my message on the pillow next to her. I really hoped it would give her some extra comfort today while the pack was out fighting the bloodsuckers. I leaned over and kissed Emily lightly on the forehead, careful not to disturb her, before quietly leaving the room. I was glad that she was going to be spending the day with Jared's imprint, Kim, and Sue Clearwater. They were all going to wait together at the Clearwaters' house for news on the Newborn War.

As I made my way into the backyard, I passed the pile of rain soaked blankets that Emily and I had used the previous night as a makeshift bed. I felt myself smiling briefly as I thought about what had taken place on those blankets. After we had made love in the rain, I had brought Emily inside, slightly worried that our overenthusiastic lovemaking might have hurt her. But she had been quick to reassure me that she was fine with how physical things had gotten between us.

Being a wolf sometimes had its limitations; our overly proportioned bodies were just one thing we had to worry about. Our strength was another. When a wolf had sex with a woman, we had to be careful to not hurt them. It was something that I'd worried about with Emily in the past. But I guessed making love to your imprint was a completely different experience. Emily and I were designed for each other. We fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. Last night proved that. It was a relief to know that Emily could handle our intimacy no matter how out of control it got.

As I headed towards the woods, I tried to force my memories of the night before out of my head. I didn't want to share what took place between me and my imprint with the rest of the pack. I attempted to phase, but it was really difficult to achieve the anger I needed when all I felt was happiness. I closed my eyes as I thought about the pack. I internally cringed at the idea of any of them seeing Emily lustfully through my mind. No fucking way were they going to see her like that. Especially Leah.

The constant guilt I always felt over how much I'd hurt Leah, mixed with my jealousy over any of the other guys inadvertently seeing Em naked because of me, quickly destroyed my euphoria. The familiar heat began to spread from the base of my spine and I phased shortly after. As I headed deeper into the forest, I felt the others join me.

_Seth, are you on your way?_ I asked.

_Yeah, almost there,_ Seth replied. He was going to take over guarding Bella from Jacob. I knew that Jake had spent the night with Bella up in the mountains.

_You be careful, little brother,_ Leah said. Her mind instantly flashed to an image of Edward Cullen. Jacob had learned from Bella that her leech boyfriend was planning on staying with her and Seth during the fight. Leah wasn't happy that Seth was going to be so close to a blood drinker, even if it was a Cullen. But Jacob trusted Edward…even if he did hate the very sight of him.

_If Edward attacks me_, Seth grumbled, listening to our thoughts, _at least it would give me something to do. Nothing else is gonna freaking happen. I'm just stuck babysitting. I should be with you guys. _

I ignored him. I'd already had this conversation with him when I first told him of his assignment.

_Collin, Brady, remember to keep out of sight while you're patrolling the rez, _I told the youngest members of the pack. They were staying behind as I couldn't in good consciousness let two kids fight in the battle. _If_ _you get close to the Black property, be especially careful. Charlie Swan is going to be in the area. We don't need him to see you._

_Sure thing, Sam,_ Collin replied. We saw Seth approach the campsite where Bella was being kept. There was no sign of Jacob, though Seth could pick up his scent along with the stench of Edward coming from the tent that had been set up.

_Okay…I'm with Jacob. Let the babysitting commence_, Seth whined.

The rest of the pack headed towards the clearing where we were meeting the Cullens. From a distance, I saw Jasper piling wood and grass together in the middle of the clearing. He was obviously getting things set up for a bonfire. The coven turned in our direction as we stepped out of the woods.

"Thank you again for doing this," the doctor said. I nodded my head and the Cullens went back to prepping for the battle.

_What the hell!_ Seth suddenly stated.

_What's going on?_ Leah asked, instantly worried as Seth began growling.

_I think the bloodsucker and Jacob are fighting. I heard Jacob yell, and now there's a bunch of growling coming from inside the tent. Oh wait…here comes Jake._

"Give it a rest, Bella," we heard Jacob say as he stepped out of the tent before turning and zipping it closed with some force. He stripped out of his pants to phase.

_I really don't need to see this,_ Leah mumbled. She started thinking of some lyrics to an obscure 80s song. I felt Jacob phase.

_You all right?_ I asked him.

_Yeah,_ Jake replied, though we could feel his underlining anger. _I had to share a sleeping bag with Bella last night cause she was freezing. I got a little too cozy with her this morning and the leech took exception to it. No big deal._

Silence fell over us as we continued to watch the Cullens. Each of us were lost in our own thoughts. Jared started thinking about sex he'd had with Kim the night before, which of course triggered my memory of Emily before I could stop it. I could feel Leah's anger building so I forced myself to concentrate on the Cullens' activities. A few minutes went by when Jacob suddenly howled in pain. The Cullens immediately stopped what they were doing and turned to look in the direction the noise came from.

"What is it? Did the newborns change their minds? Are they coming from the mountains?" Jasper asked, instantly on alert as he ran over to us.

_Bella's engaged,_ Jacob groaned. I shook my head at Jasper. His eyes narrowed on me in frustrated curiosity, but he turned and left.

_Well, that should make for an interesting honeymoon, huh? _Paul snickered and then we all winced as Jacob almost doubled up in pain.

_Shut the fuck up, Paul,_ I snapped. _Jacob, are you okay?_

_Yeah,_ Jacob said as he began to run away from the tent area. His depression hit all of us like an anvil, crushing us under its weight.

"Jacob," we heard Edward call out. We could see through Jake's eyes as Edward approached. "Bella needs to talk to you."

_Why? She seems to have everything she needs,_ Jacob responded dejectedly, but he stopped running.

"Please Jacob. She won't be able to stop worrying about you if she doesn't see you. She _needs _to talk to you. If you care for her at all like you said, you'll speak to her."

I knew Jacob wanted to tell Edward to go fuck himself. Edward knew it too because he smiled sadly. Jacob sighed.

_Sam, I'll be right back._

_Okay,_ I replied. The air suddenly became permeated with a sickeningly sweet scent that began to irritate my nose. It started getting stronger. _Hurry Jacob, they're coming._

The Cullens turned to stare off in the same distance that the smell was coming from. The doctor looked over at me and nodded. I nodded in return and the pack retreated into the woods.

Bella had created a false trail yesterday so that the newborns would be tricked into coming to the area we were in. The psychic vampire, Alice, had told us that the enemy bloodsuckers would split up and try to take the Cullens from two different sides. They didn't know that the pack would be waiting for them. I heard Seth suddenly start growling.

"It's just us, Seth," Jacob said in human form as he and Edward walked into the camp. Alice came over to me.

"Sam, I need to pass a message onto Edward," she told me. I saw Edward turn and look at Seth.

"Seth, can I talk to you for a minute?" Edward questioned, obviously hearing what Alice had said through our wolf connection.

_Go with him, Seth_, I told him cautiously. Leah whimpered. They walked a short distance before Edward spoke.

"Okay Alice, what is it?" Edward asked, looking at Seth. I glanced at Alice and nodded. She began speaking.

"The Volturi are coming," Alice told us. "They're going to wait until the newborns come here, probably hoping they'll finish us off, but they _are_ coming. I just saw it."

"Okay," Edward said, looking even paler than normal if that were possible. I glanced at Alice and nodded so that she'd know he had received the message. She glanced at me worriedly before returning to her coven.

Edward turned to Seth. "Sam, when the battle is done, you and the pack need to leave the area as soon as possible. You don't want the Volturi to find out that you helped us. They would attack your entire tribe and with the powers they have, they would win."

_They have powers like you?_ I asked, thinking of Edward's mind reading ability. He shook his head.

"They have powers, but not like me. They are the enforcers of our kind. They destroy anything that may lead to the exposure of our world. Though your pack is strong, they would decimate it in seconds and then would go after your kinsman next."

_We could take them_, Paul sneered. I noticed the concern and worry on Edward's face. He must genuinely fear these bloodsuckers to look like that. I slowly nodded.

_If you think it best,_ I said, _we will leave as soon as we are done._

"Good, thank you," Edward replied.

He and Seth started to make their way back to the tent. I felt Jacob phase. He was so happy that I was surprised he had even been able to do it. He started reliving in detail the fact that he had just kissed Bella...passionately.

_Oh c'mon, I don't want to see this_, Seth complained.

He and Edward had just gotten back to the camp. Edward froze as he read Jacob's thoughts, before rushing off to find Bella. Seth started pacing back and forth. I sighed. This was all we needed right now.

_Seth, make sure Edward doesn't kill Bella or anything,_ I said tiredly.

_He won't kill her,_ Jacob replied giddily.

_What a friggin' slut,_ Leah sneered.

_Which one? Bella or Jacob? _Jared snickered.

_Both._ Paul laughed at the same time Leah said disdainfully, _Bella! What a bitch._

_Shut the hell up, Leah,_ Jacob yelled. _Just because you're not getting any, doesn't mean you have to make the rest of us miserable. _

_Fuck you, tool,_ Leah replied angrily. _Just because you're stupid enough to waste your emotions on an imbecile—who by the way STILL WON'T CHOOSE YOU—don't take it out on me._

_Um, do you guys think you can concentrate a little bit?_ I asked sarcastically. _As gripping as Jacob's love life is, in case you didn't notice, we're about to get swarmed with vampires._

We could hear them approaching. Jacob still had his mind on kissing Bella as he hurried towards us. We all collectively groaned in disgust as he finally arrived where we were waiting.

_But…_ Quil started to say before quickly stopping. It was too late though. He had shown the entire pack what we had been trying to hide from Jacob…the fact that Bella was out of focus to the three of us who had imprinted. She had been ever since her leech boyfriend came back. Which meant that she was no longer miserable. The only way imprinted wolves could see women was if the woman was in pain.

"You can't see her anymore?" Jacob asked, his hope and happiness slowly draining out of him as he read the truth in our minds. In that moment Jacob knew. Kissing Bella hadn't changed anything. She would still choose Edward.

_Jacob, you need to concentrate, _I warned.

I looked over and saw a large group of bloodsuckers fast approaching. They were looking at the Cullens and murmuring to themselves, before they split into two groups.

_Here they come,_ I said. I heard Seth growl. He wanted to be with us so badly.

_Stay where you are, Seth,_ I ordered.

Ten newborns headed into the clearing. The other eight had gone left and were headed in our direction. They weren't paying attention to us. The Cullens and newborns suddenly ran at each other. Alice moved quickly towards a bulky leech. Jasper, upon seeing where she was headed, got to leech first, biting into the neck and ripping the head off. It bounced uselessly to the side. Emmett picked it up and started bouncing it back and forth on his knees like a soccer ball. It was actually kind of funny to see. Sadistic and sick…but funny. Even Paul chuckled.

Another large vampire headed towards the Cullen who I knew was Esme. The blonde female vampire and the doctor grabbed the vampire and each grabbed an arm, ripping it from the body.

I stopped watching as we focused on the eight vampires that were near us. They were about to enter the clearing. I was thankful that they hadn't picked up our scent yet. One finally stiffened as we quietly approached. She lifted her nose in the air and sniffed, before looking in our direction. Her eyes widened when she saw us. She opened her mouth to alert the others, but Leah being the fastest of us, lunged forward and took her down before she could even mutter a word.

_Go after the large one,_ I instructed.

Quil and Jacob lunged at the one who seemed to be the leader and tore him in half. The other vampires drew back together in a group. They didn't know what to make of us.

_Let's charge,_ Paul said anxiously.

_No, let Sam lead_, Jacob told the pack. We started circling around the vampires carefully.

_Separate them_, I stated. _Don't let them protect each others' backs._

The pack charged at the remaining vampires we hadn't destroyed. They went running in the direction of the Cullens.

_That's better. Force them towards the clearing,_ I ordered. We started running after them.

_Seth!_ Leah suddenly yelled.

We sensed that Seth was standing still and alert. He was staring in the direction of a stench that was headed towards the area he was in. A ripping noise came from the tent that Edward and Bella had been occupying. Edward pushed the remaining vinyl out of his way as he stared at Seth. Bella blinked in confusion.

_Two vampires are coming,_ Seth said with nerves and excitement. _I'll leave and come up at them from the side. Surprise them._

"Go, Seth," Edward said, not even hesitating. Seth turned and headed into the forest.

_Oh God, don't let anything happen to Bella,_ Jacob moaned. I could feel his longing to return to where Bella was. Leah was also getting restless. She wanted to help her brother.

_Edward and Seth can take care of this,_ I told them. _We need to focus on what we're doing here._

Leah howled in frustration and fear for her brother. We continued to chase the remaining vampires. I lunged and bit into a vampire's neck from behind. I sank my teeth in and pulled, the metallic sound it made pleasant to my ears.

At the same time I could see Seth flying back into the campsite. There were two vampires standing before him. One was the elusive redhead that we had been chasing for months.

_Dumb fucking luck,_ Paul said enviously as he tore into the arm of a female leech.

Seth snickered as he charged at the redheaded vampire's male companion. Seth lunged and grabbed the bloodsucker's hand, ripping it from the body. The male leech stood up and kicked Seth. Pain ricocheted through all of us as we felt his shoulder crunch. Seth backed away. The redhead and Edward were now circling each other.

Seth lunged again and bit into the male's other arm. He dug his teeth in, pulled, and then took a moment to admire what he'd done. From the elbow to the wrist, half of the leech's arm was missing. The hand was barely attached. The male screamed in pain and anger before trying to swing out and hit Seth, who jumped out of the way. Leah whimpered again even as she and Esme tackled another vampire and started disassembling him.

He could hear Edward begin to taunt the redhead about her ex-mate. Edward was practically gleeful as he discussed how he'd killed him. Seth paused as he listened to Edward in what could only be described as hero-worship. His momentary distraction was enough for the male vampire to punch Seth's flank. Seth snapped at the male in anger.

_Look at our little brother go._ Embry chuckled before carrying his newly destroyed vampire towards the doctor who was now throwing body parts into the bonfire they had lit.

Through Seth, we saw the redhead and Edward swirl around each other even faster. Edward was mangling her body with each second that passed. The male leech stopped to watch his partner's fate. Seth attacked again, tearing off the rest of the vampire's already damaged forearm and hand. The male hit Seth with what was left of his arm. Seth went flying back under the contact.

_Seth, pretend you're hurt and when he least expects it, attack!_ I ordered, while biting into another vampire. I heard Seth whimper for dramatic effect.

_Overkill, dude,_ Jared laughed as he and Paul finished off another leech. There were only a couple more bloodsuckers left.

We heard Bella gasp. Edward suddenly sent the female flying into a tree before attacking the male. He ripped the male's other arm off with a metallic snap. The redhead got her bearings back and headed towards Bella. Edward turned around and whipped the male's arm at the female. It hit her hard, sending her crashing back.

_Say what you want, but these Cullens have style,_ Quil joked.

Seth ran at the male again and tore off what was left of his stumpy arm. Seth shook his head and threw the mangled limb into the trees. He then lunged at the male full strength, knocking him into the woods where he grabbed the neck and beheaded the leech. For good measure he also tore off the legs.

_I killed him!_ Seth shouted with glee. _Score one for me._

_Nah, it doesn't count as a full kill since Edward helped. _Paul laughed.

_Damn,_ Seth grumbled.

"Seth," Edward said. Seth looked over. For a vampire, Edward looked very tired.

"Grab all the pieces. We need to burn the bodies as soon as possible."

_Bodies? The woman leech is dead?_ Seth asked. Edward smiled and nodded. All of us started cheering at this news.

As Seth and Edward went about gathering body parts, we helped the Cullens clean up the massacre in the clearing. There was one vampire left, a young girl with dark hair. She had apparently surrendered. The doctor was talking to her quietly as she laid cowering on the ground with Jasper standing over her.

"Nice teamwork," we heard Edward say and saw him holding out his fist to Seth. Seth laughed and butted his nose against the fist, ignoring the pain the scent caused.

_Oh sick. Someone please tell me that my brother isn't going to turn into a leech lover,_ Leah said disgustingly.

We saw Bella grab Edward and start kissing him all over his face and neck. Pain shot through Jacob. Leah was about to say something sarcastic when something caught her attention. The smell of a live bloodsucker hit all of us.

Seth whined. Edward looked at him and asked what Leah was doing just as she took off running in the direction of the stench.

_Leah, wait! You don't know where it is!_ Jacob yelled, chasing after her.

She just reached the woods when a bloodsucker lunged out from behind a tree. Jacob ran and head butted Leah out of the way just as the leech tried to grab her. He picked Jacob up instead and squeezed hard. All of us felt an incredible spasm of pain as Jacob's right side of the body got crushed. Seth howled and Edward dropped to the ground, his mind completely attuned to ours. He felt what we did.

Paul and I reached the vampire at the same time. I bit into the back of the neck, pulling him backwards. Paul grabbed an arm and bit into the shoulder. The vampire let go of Jake as he tried to fight us off. Jacob crashed to the ground with a loud thud. Leah ran over to him whimpering. Paul and I proceeded to tear the vampire to shreds before carrying the remains to the bonfire.

_Jake, I'm so sorry,_ Leah cried. Jacob could only scream in agonized pain.

_Nice freaking work, Leah,_ Quil snapped as he and Embry made their way over to them.

"Seth, no," we heard Edward suddenly say. We could feel Seth's desire to come check on Jacob. "You go straight home. Now, as fast as you can."

_Listen to him, Seth,_ I told him, remembering Edward's warning about the Volturi. _We need to get the pack out of here._

The vampire doctor ran over to us.

"May I?" he asked, looking at me. I nodded my head and watched as he ran his hands gently over Jacob. Jake whimpered in pain, causing the rest of us to flinch.

"Jacob, can you phase?" the doc asked. "I can't see the extent of the damage when you're like this."

_No, I can't goddamn phase!_ Jacob screamed in agony.

I looked at the doctor and shook my head.

_I'm going to change back,_ I told the pack. I ran behind a tree and quickly phased, untying my shorts from my leg and pulling them on. I went back over to the group.

"Sam," the doc said. "I need him to change back. I can't treat him while he's in wolf form."

"Carlisle, the Volturi will be here soon," Alice said urgently, running over to us.

"We need to leave," I responded and made a quick decision. I looked at the doc. "Will you come to the reservation later and check on Jacob?"

"Yes," the doctor said solemnly, running his hands over Jake again. "He's already healing, but I need to make sure everything is growing back correctly. I'll give you my number. Call me when you get him to the reservation."

I nodded and he told me the number.

"Jared, phase." I instructed, looking over at the brown wolf. Jared went behind the same tree I had and came back seconds later in human form.

"We need to get Jake out of here," I told him. "Help me carry him back to the rez."

Even with my strength, I didn't want to risk jostling Jacob by carrying him by myself. We leaned over and gently lifted him off the ground. As careful as we'd tried to be, Jake still whimpered. We turned and left the clearing, the rest of the wolves surrounding us as we went.


	27. Compromise

A/N - This chapter had been updated from the original version. All wolf dialogue is in italics. Warning - this chapter will contain strong language. 

-XXX-

**Chapter 27 – Compromise**

Sam's POV

"Come on, Jacob, you need to phase. Dr. Vamp can't help you when you're in wolf form," I told Jake as Jared and I carried him back to the reservation, trying our best not to hurt him after his side had been crushed by a newborn leech. The wolves of Paul, Leah, Embry, and Quil flanked us as we walked. Jacob growled in response to my statement.

In my most soothing voice, I added, "Charlie Swan is going to be at your house, and we can't bring you there if you're like this."

The mention of Bella Swan's father only made Jacob's aggravation rise. He let out a bloodcurdling howl. Jared looked at me and rolled his eyes. I sighed.

"Seth, are you at La Push yet?" I asked. Even though he wasn't physically with us, I knew Seth would hear my question through our wolf telepathy. He howled in the distance seconds later. Paul looked at me and nodded his silver furry head.

"Okay, find your mom and ask her to meet us at Jacob's house," I instructed. "The doctor may need some help, and he could use her medical skills as a nurse."

Seth let out another yip, and then I felt the shimmer of someone phasing. We kept walking, Jacob letting out an occasional whimper as we moved. I could see that things were getting lighter up ahead, and I knew we were close to the reservation. I looked down at Jacob.

"Jake, we're almost there. You really need to phase. Think of something to calm down."

"Yeah, man," Jared said coaxingly. "Think of seagulls calling out on a beach as waves hit the shore. Or think of the wind blowing across a meadow as a brook trickles nearby."

I looked at Jared incredulously, and even Jacob turned his head to stare at Jared like he had just grown two heads.

"What?" Jared asked innocently.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I questioned.

"Oh…uh…okay, so Kim is really into meditation and yoga, and she asked me to try it a few times. She listens to these weird CDs while we're working out which play classical music. They always have these freaky sounds playing in the background like the ocean and stuff."

"She's trying to teach you meditation?" I said, chuckling at the irony. "She wants a wolf to learn how to meditate."

"Yeah…so?" Jared responded defensively.

"All I'm saying is if you come to our next pack meeting wearing yoga pants and chanting, I'm kicking your ass out of the pack," I told him with a laugh and heard Jacob softly chuckle too, despite his pain. I felt the environment start to change, and Jared and I stopped moving just as Jacob phased.

"SHIT!" he yelled, back in human form.

"Hold on, Jake," I told him. "Not far now."

We jarred him slightly and he screamed out, "FUCK!"

We arrived at the reservation with Jacob continuing to swear at the top of his lungs. When we got to the border of the forest the rest of the pack phased, Leah hiding behind a tree so that she could change in privacy.

"I'm so sorry, Jacob," she said, apologizing again as Collin and Brady joined us.

"Fine…AHH," Jacob shouted. We reached his house just as the front door opened. He didn't even notice. "DAMN THAT STUPID PIECE OF SHIT VAM—"

"Jacob!" I warned. Charlie Swan was standing in the open doorway. Jacob stopped swearing, but he continued to grunt out in pain.

"What happened?" Charlie asked as he hurried over to us.

I told him the first thing that popped in my head. "Motorcycle accident."

"Bet you're glad she loves Cullen instead of me today, huh, Charlie?" Jacob stated gruffly as we passed Charlie and carried Jake into his room. We put him on the bed as carefully as we possibly could, but Jacob still yelled, his face breaking out into a sweat.

"I'm going to call Dr. Vamp," I told him.

"Dr. Fang," Jacob muttered, even as his eyes began to roll. I knew he was very close to passing out, but he was trying to fight it.

"What?" I asked, worried that he may have a concussion.

"I like Dr. Fang better than Dr. Vamp."

"Okay," I replied in a pacifying tone. The boy had obviously lost his mind. I turned and walked out of the room.

"Shouldn't we take him to the hospital?" Charlie asked.

"No, Dr. Fa—uh—Dr. Cullen is coming here," I replied, dialing the number that I had memorized.

"Well, that's nice of him," Charlie said in surprise at the same time Billy asked, "Dr. Cullen is coming here?"

"Yeah," I responded to both, looking carefully at Billy. Billy stared back at me before slowly nodding. I walked out of the house and hit the send button on my cell. The doctor answered immediately.

"We're at the rez," I told him.

"I'm on my way," the doc said instantly. "Would it be alright if my son Edward came?"

I hesitated. I really didn't like the idea of letting one Cullen come to the reservation let alone two. Still, I was sure the doctor would be more comfortable if he had one of his own with him.

"Fine, but I want two of my guys to meet you when you get to the border. You can follow them to the house," I compromised.

"No problem. We're on our way."

"Wait…what about that group, the Volturi?" I remembered to ask.

"They're gone already. Probably on a flight back to Italy as we speak."

"Good," I replied, feeling relieved that that threat was gone.

"We'll see you in a few minutes," the doctor replied before hanging up. I put my phone in the pocket of my shorts and went back inside.

"He's on his way," I told everyone. "He's bringing his son Edward."

"Edward's coming?" Charlie said in surprise. "Wait, I thought Edward and Carlisle were hiking this weekend."

So that was the lie they told Charlie. No wonder Bella was able to spend the night in a tent with her leech boyfriend without Charlie going after them with his guns blazing.

"I guess they're back, because he said that he and Edward were both coming," I responded. Billy, who had been sitting stiffly in his wheelchair, turned and went into his son's room without a word.

"Jared, Paul," I said, looking at my brothers. "Can I talk to you outside for a minute?"

They both got up from the chairs they'd been sitting in and followed me out the front door.

"I want you to meet the Cullens at the border," I told them. "I don't think they'll try anything, but just to be on the safe side."

Jared and Paul both nodded before running into the woods. I soon felt both of them phase. I looked into the direction they had disappeared with a frown forming on my face. What would my ancestors have said if they knew I'd just approved two bloodsuckers to come onto our land? Granted it was an emergency, but I hoped I wouldn't regret it. I was so lost in thought that I didn't hear my truck pull up next to me until several car doors slammed. I turned and saw Seth, Sue Clearwater, Kim, and Emily hurrying towards me.

"He's in his room," I said to Sue as my eyes drifted to Emily's pale face. Sue and Seth quickly ran into the house.

"Where's Jared?" Kim asked in a panicked tone. I went over and put my hands on both of her shoulders reassuringly.

"He's okay. He didn't even get a scratch on him," I told her. "He's out doing a quick errand for the pack, but he'll be back shortly. Why don't you go inside and wait?"

She nodded, though her chin wobbled. I called out, "Quil."

He appeared a few seconds later. Taking one look at Kim, he gently took her arm and guided her inside the house. I turned to look at my imprint. Emily's coloring still hadn't returned and she looked very close to tears.

"Hey," I said simply, opening my arms to her. She launched herself at me, wrapping her arms firmly around my neck to hug me tight.

"Oh God, Sam. I was so worried—"

"I told you not to worry," I said, kissing her hair.

"Seth told us what happened to Jacob," she murmured against my chest.

"Yeah, but he's already healing. Dr. Fang is on his way to examine him right now. Jake will pull through. He's a tough son of a bitch."

"Dr. Fang?" Emily questioned, pulling back to look at me.

"Yeah, Jacob said he preferred that to Dr. Vamp." I laughed before looking down into Emily's exhausted eyes.

"I love you," I said simply, wishing there was some way I could erase the terror she must have felt.

"I love you, too," she told me, cupping the side of my neck with her hand.

I kissed the top of her head before half dragging her into the house. I left Emily sitting with her cousins and Kim, while I went to check on Jake. Sue was sitting on the bed holding a couple of ice packs against him. Jacob had apparently passed out.

"How's it look?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not a doctor, but it looks to me like Jacob's arm and leg are growing back wrong. Dr. Cullen will need to reset them. I've been trying to keep some of the swelling down by using ice packs, but his body is naturally so hot they keep melting," Sue explained in frustration, throwing the useless bags on the table next to the bed. They landed with a squish.

We heard the front door open and the stench of vampire hit my nose along with Kim crying out Jared's name. The loud sounds of kissing and the collective groans of the rest of the pack reached my ears. Comments of "get a room" and "take it outside" filled the air.

"Hey Edward, you're back," Charlie said, interrupting the pack's teasing. I could clearly hear the suspicion in his voice. "Was Bella at your house when you got home?"

"No, she's shopping with Alice," Edward lied. "I'll call her later and tell her about Jacob."

The scent of vampire became stronger, and then both Cullens were there, entering Jake's room. Dr. Cullen's face was serious as he immediately went to Jacob's side with Edward following closely behind.

"Hello Sue," the doc greeted. "How does it look?"

He was holding a medical bag in his hand. Edward stood in the corner of the room. His eyebrows were pulled together in a frown. If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought he was just as worried about Jacob as the rest of us.

"Since I've been here, his hand has healed," Sue explained. "But I think his arm and leg are growing back wrong."

"Hmm, okay." Dr. Cullen reached down and ran his hand along Jacob's arm and leg. Jacob shivered and opened his eyes with a groan. The doc looked at him calmly.

"Jacob, I'm going to need to reset your bones," he stated. "I'm going to give you some morphine. It'll be more than I normally give someone, but your body temperature would just burn away a normal dose."

"Fine, whatever," Jacob grimaced. Dr. Cullen looked over at Billy who was seated on the other side of Jake's bed. Billy nodded, his eyes filled with worry.

The doctor started to work, administering the drug into Jacob's arm. He grabbed his medical bag and pulled out some medical tape and began taping Jacob's ribs. I thought I saw him take a vial of blood from Jacob, but I couldn't be sure because at that moment, Jacob's eyes rolled up and he collapsed against his pillow.

"I'm going to reset the bone now," Dr. Cullen warned.

He grabbed Jacob's arm. We heard a snap that made us all jump. He proceeded to do the following with the leg. The resetting of limbs pained me even in human form. I knew that the wolves in the living room felt it too, because a second later the rest of the pack was crowding the doorway, trying to see into the room.

I noticed that Emily was absent. I could hear light feet pacing in the living room, and I knew it was my imprint. A soft vibrating noise came from the area Edward was standing in. He pulled out his phone, and I heard him mutter, "Alice." After giving her an update, he hung up and returned to his frozen state. The doctor continued to work for awhile, before standing up with an air of satisfaction.

"I think he'll need a few days of bed rest, but he should recover just fine," Dr. Cullen stated before looking at Billy and me. "I'd like to come back and check on him, if that's all right?"

"That's fine with me," Billy answered and I nodded in agreement. Billy held out his hand. "Thank you, Doc."

"I'm glad I could help," Dr. Cullen replied, returning the handshake. "Sue, as you live closer, would you also check in on Jacob?"

"Of course."

"If there are any changes, please let me know."

"Absolutely," Sue agreed. Dr. Cullen smiled and walked over to his son and put a hand on Edward's shoulder.

"He's going to be fine," the doctor assured him. Edward nodded but never took his eyes off Jacob. He looked like he was in pain. The doctor gently squeezed his arm. "Come on, son. Let's go home."

They turned and left. I followed them closely behind. Jared and Kim were now making out on the living room armchair, so Paul and Embry trailed after me. As soon as we were outside, they went running into the forest. I felt them phase seconds later.

"Doc," I said. "When you come back to the reservation, make sure to call first, okay? I don't want pack members to attack before realizing it's you."

"Of course, Sam," Dr. Cullen replied before lifting his hand to shake mine. I shook it, but the coldness of it sent a shiver of revulsion threw me. I dropped his hand, my own starting to shake slightly. I stepped back to put some space between us.

"Thank you for what you did for Jake," I said, even as I fought my natural instinct to attack. The doc smiled sadly at me and nodded.

"See ya, Edward," Seth said, walking towards us. Edward smiled slightly before going over to Seth and gently punching him on the arm.

"See you later, Seth," Edward replied before getting into the car. The Cullens soon left, and I knew Paul and Embry were following them out. Charlie also decided to leave, asking Billy to call him if anything new happened.

We went back into the house and ordered twenty large pizzas. The pack sat and ate a victory lunch. Kim and Jared soon disappeared after getting my permission to leave. I decided to give the rest of the pack the afternoon off, and the quickly crowd dissipated. I waited a couple more hours with Emily and the Clearwaters, but Jacob was out cold so Emily and I decided to leave as well.

"I'm going to stay and keep an eye on him for a little while longer," Sue told me.

I nodded before saying to Leah and Seth, "Do you need a ride home?"

Seth nodded, but Leah shook her head stiffly.

"Leah…" I said. She looked at me with blank eyes and I sighed. "Don't beat yourself up too much for what happened to Jacob."

"Sure, whatever," she replied, not looking at me.

I glanced worriedly at her, before heading down the hall with Emily walking in front of me. After dropping Seth off at his house, Emily and I headed for home.

"You want to watch a movie when we get back?" I asked.

"No," Emily responded, looking lost in thought.

As soon as we walked into our kitchen Emily reached for me, her movements almost desperate as she brought her lips to mine. We made it as far as the hallway before we came together, me plunging into Emily as I pressed her against a wall. After it was over, we climbed into our bed, kissing and holding each other close.

In the weeks following the war, Emily and I spent every conceivable moment we could together. When we weren't at work or patrolling, we spent all of our time holed up in our house. I knew our constant need for each other stemmed from Emily's relief that I made it back from the battle in one piece. She was on cloud nine that I and the rest of the pack had returned to her safe and sound. And I was thoroughly addicted to her happiness. Being near Emily while she was so blissfully content was as necessary to me as breathing oxygen.

The pack itself was jubilant over the outcome of the war. We had faced a large group of newborn bloodsuckers, and we'd all lived to tell the tale. Even Jacob was back on his feet in no time, using crutches to get around. Not because he needed them, but because Charlie Swan had told everyone that Jacob had been in a motorcycle accident. Jake begrudgingly had to use them as a prop. Of course, he hated them. But then again, Jacob pretty much hated everything nowadays.

The night of the attack, Bella had gone to Jacob's house and told him that she was choosing her boyfriend over him. He hadn't been surprised. Knowing that Bella was out of focus to his imprinted brothers had made Jake realize that she was truly fulfilled now that Edward was back in her life. Jacob accepted the truth, though it had left him bitter and depressed.

His easy acceptance of the situation actually made me leery. Jake had loved Bella passionately for so long, it was hard for me to believe he would just give in. He had always seemed a bit like a loose cannon to me. I kept waiting for him to go off.

I didn't have to wait long.

Emily and I were in bed one morning when the cell phone on my nightstand went off. We had just finished making love, and I was holding her in my arms when I heard the persistent ringing. With a groan, I reached over and grabbed it.

"Yeah?" I said a little impatiently.

"Hey Sam, it's Seth," he replied.

"What's up Seth?"

"Well, I just wanted to let you know that I got an invite to Bella Swan's wedding."

"Are you calling for permission or something?" I asked in a confused tone.

Much to the pack's bafflement, Seth and Edward Cullen had developed a friendship over the past few weeks. I didn't see why Seth felt the need to call me about the upcoming nuptials. I seriously doubted he'd ask for my consent to attend the event. Unless I used an Alpha order against Seth, wild horses probably wouldn't drag him away from that wedding.

And why would I want to keep him away anyway? I had to admit that I had a begrudging respect for Dr. Cullen. He had given Jacob the best care possible when Jake was on bed rest. I would always be grateful to him for that.

"No, I'm planning on going," Seth replied. "I was just worried about Jacob, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," I replied tiredly.

If it had been bad patrolling with a depressed Jacob before Bella had kissed and broken his heart, nothing was as terrible as patrolling with him now. He held onto the memory of their kiss tightly, reliving it over and over again. But unlike the happiness he'd felt after he first kissed her, this time there was always heartbreak to his memory. It pained us all.

I was about to end my conversation with Seth when I felt the shimmer of two wolves phasing. I frowned. As far as I knew, only Embry was on patrol right now. Something was wrong.

Seth felt it too because he asked, "Do you want me to phase?"

"No, that's okay. I've got it," I told him before hanging up.

"Something wrong?" Emily asked as I got out of bed.

"That was Seth. He just received an invitation to Bella Swan's wedding. Someone phased while we were talking. I'm worried that it might be Jake."

"I'll go make breakfast," Emily said, getting up from the bed and putting on her robe. I kissed her swiftly and headed outside to phase. I sensed Embry right away. I also felt Quil and Jacob.

Jake's pain hit me like a sledgehammer. He got the invitation to the wedding all right. I saw in his head that a note from Edward had accompanied it, telling Jacob that Edward would take care of Bella.

_So sorry,_ Embry said sadly as he read his best friend's thoughts. I felt him begin to head for the area Jacob was now running.

_Wait for us,_ Quil pleaded. It didn't surprise me that Quil was the other person I'd felt phase. Being so close to Jacob, he would have felt Jake's pain even in human form.

_Leave me alone,_ Jacob yelled hoarsely. He wanted everyone out of his head.

_Let him go,_ I commanded in my Alpha voice to Quil and Embry. They both stopped running. _Phase back._

I could sense that Embry was a few miles away so I said, _I'll pick you up, Embry._

I felt both Quil and Embry leave my head as they followed my order to change back into human form. I could feel the relief coming from Jacob even before he said, _thank you._

_Come home when you can,_ I told him before also phasing to give him his privacy.

Feeling sick for my devastated brother, I turned around and headed for home.


	28. Bad Idea

A/N - This chapter had been updated from the original version. All wolf dialogue is in italics. Warning - this chapter will contain strong language. 

-XXX-

**Chapter 28 – Bad Idea**

Sam's POV

Without Jacob around, the pack was different. Although he usually brought the rest of the pack's emotions down with his constant anxiety and depression over Bella Swan, he also brought with him a strength that was sorely missed. Quil and Embry mourned his absence the most. They talked to Jake all the time through our wolf connection though he was hundreds of miles away in Canada somewhere.

Jacob, however, wasn't talking back. He didn't want anything to do with life in La Push or Forks. He was letting his wolf side take over. I knew he surviving off the land, hunting whatever nature provided.

But as hard as Jake tried to pretend that none of us existed, he couldn't completely tune us out. He was aware, for instance, that his sister Rachel had come back to town and that Paul had imprinted on her. He didn't say anything about it, but we knew he was pissed by the constant growling we heard in our heads for several days after it happened.

Jacob also knew that Bella Swan kept calling Seth for updates. She wanted to know where Jake was and how he was doing. That infuriated him. When he found out, he actually spoke to us for the first time in weeks, swearing for a good fifteen minutes straight. He didn't understand why she didn't just leave him alone. We didn't understand either. After all, she had chosen the bloodsucker over him.

Leah summed it up best. "Bella's a tease. She gets off on trying to hold onto as many guys as she possibly can."

Upon hearing Leah's opinion, Jacob stopped communicating with us completely. So it came as a surprise to me one mid-August afternoon, when Jake spoke to me while I was patrolling.

_I'm on my way back,_ he stated, urgency in his voice. _I've got to make it to that wedding._

_Jacob, do you really think that's a good idea?_ I questioned.

_No, but I'm going to do it anyway,_ he replied. _I need to say goodbye to her and get some closure. And…I need to be there for Bella._

_Do you want me to do anything?_ I asked.

_Yeah, I don't have any clothes on me, and my coat's a mess. Could you meet me near the Cullen house with something for me to wear and some scissors? I need to cut my hair and make myself presentable before I see Bella. _

_Sure, no problem,_ I told him.

_Thanks Sam,_ Jacob responded, relief evident in his voice. _I don't know if I'm going to make it to the wedding, but I should be able to get there in time for the reception._

_Okay, see you in awhile, _I said.

I switched my direction and headed towards the Black residence, phasing as I got closer to the edge of the forest. Pulling on my shorts, I headed to the house and knocked on the front door. After a few moments, I heard Billy's wheelchair approaching.

"Hey Sam, what are you doing here?" Billy asked when he saw me. He was wearing a formal suit and was in the process of fixing his tie.

"Am I catching you at a bad time?" I wondered.

"Nah, I'm just getting ready for Bella's wedding. Charlie would kill me if I didn't attend, even though he knows I'm not incredibly fond of the Cullens. But the doc really helped Jake when he was hurt, so I figured let bygones be bygones. At least for today anyway."

"I understand. Speaking of Jacob, that's why I'm here," I responded and Billy stopped fiddling with his tie to look at me warily. "I just talked to him. He's on his way back."

"Yeah?" Billy asked hopefully.

"Yeah, he's going to try to make it to the reception."

"That's wonderful news," Billy said gruffly, his voice choked with emotion. Seconds later, he frowned. "Are you sure that's the best idea, him going near Bella and the Cullens today of all days?"

"Honestly, I think it's a really bad idea," I replied seriously. "But if this is something Jacob feels he needs to do to move on with his life, then I'm not going to stop him."

I felt my eyebrows pull together as I silently worried over what I'd just said. Jacob never seemed to be emotionally put together when he was around Bella, and he'd been living for the past month as a wolf. I didn't know how much control he would have tonight. All I could do was hope he wouldn't do anything stupid.

"Billy, do you mind if I grab some clothes for Jake? I'm supposed to meet him at the Cullens."

"Sure, sure. Go ahead and get what you need."

I went into Jacob's room and pulled out some clean khaki pants and a gray t-shirt. The pants looked like they hadn't been worn in awhile. I hoped that they would fit him. I thanked Billy and headed to my house for a quick dinner with Emily.

While I was doing the dishes after eating, I debated on calling Quil or Embry. As Jake's best friends, I knew they'd want to see him right away. However, I remembered that Embry had a hot date tonight. That kid knew how to work the ladies. He did the "quiet, nice guy" angle to perfection. I think he got laid more than Jared ever had before Jared imprinted…and that was saying something.

I decided to call Quil. I knew he wasn't planning on going to Makah tonight to see Claire. Seth had informed us—thanks to his new friendship with Edward—that some vampire friends of the Cullens were coming to the area for the wedding. Quil wanted to stay nearby in case he was needed.

I picked up the phone and dialed Quil's number. As soon as I heard his voice, I let him know that Jacob was on his way home. He excitedly agreed to meet up with me later. Ending the call, I grabbed some scissors out of the kitchen drawer. I made my way down the hallway and into the living room where Emily was.

"Em?"

"Yeah," she replied, looking up at me from the floor. She was making homemade candles with the candle wax I had bought the year before while trying to woo her. All the supplies were laid out on newspaper in front of her.

"I'm going to phase. Could you do me a favor and hold the scissors out for me so that I can grab them with my teeth after I change?"

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to run with scissors?" Emily joked, taking them from my outstretched hand.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Just don't get hurt," she said cautiously. I rolled my eyes.

"Em, you do realize that even if I managed to trip and the scissors went through the roof of my mouth, I would be healed in an hour, right?"

"Now you're just bragging," Emily grumbled, getting up to follow me into the yard. I took off my shorts and tied them to my leg along with Jake's clothes. I heard Emily let out a whistle behind me.

"That's sexual harassment, you know?" I told her with a smirk.

"Doesn't count unless you're working for me." She grinned at me.

"Is that a fact?" I went over to her and picked her up, hugging her tight.

"All right, get off me naked man and get going." Emily laughed before kissing me swiftly on the mouth.

I put some distance between us and phased. Turning back to Emily, she held out the scissors to me. I carefully took them out of her hand.

"Who's a good boy?" she said, patting me on the head.

I chuckled and headed for the forest, running towards the Cullen property. As I got closer, Quil joined me. Though we were going to be on Cullen land tonight, I wasn't worried about violating the treaty. The doc had called me a few days ago and invited me to the wedding.

He was aware enough to know that I wasn't exactly thrilled about Seth going into vampire territory by himself, and I appreciated the gesture of his invitation. Although I told him no thanks at the time, he still gave me his consent to come to the party in case I wanted to check on Seth. I never thought I would actually take him up on his offer. Yet here I was, heading towards the one place I never thought I'd willingly go.

_I bet Embry's going to be pissed that he missed seeing Jacob tonight,_ Quil said.

_Who says I'm going anywhere?_ Jacob responded.

_Jake! Good to hear from you, man._ Quil laughed. Through Jake's eyes, I could see that he was in a body of water.

_Did you decide to go swimming instead of to the reception?_ I asked. _Cause if you did, we're out of here. The stench of vampire is getting stronger, and it's starting to burn my nose._

_Nah, just taking a quick bath, _Jacob replied.

Quil and I stopped running within a few miles of the Cullen house. We were far enough away where Edward wouldn't be able to read our minds and the rest of the leeches wouldn't pick up our scent. We didn't want to disturb the reception, but we wanted to be close enough to use our natural night vision to see what was going on at the party.

I sat down and got comfortable, spitting the scissors out on the ground in front of me while I waited for Jacob to arrive. We could see the backyard through the trees. The entire area was covered in lights and thousands of flowers. People were dancing on a makeshift dance floor.

Seth was sitting in a chair at one of the tables, tapping his foot to the music and looking completely relaxed. His mother was sitting stiffly next to him, barely moving. Charlie Swan and Billy were also at their table. Billy kept glancing around anxiously. I could tell he was looking for Jacob.

I heard steps approach and a russet brown wolf soon appeared next to us. His coat was matted beyond saving. To my surprise, I also noticed Jake was even bigger than he was before he left.

_Thanks for bringing the scissors,_ he said, looking down at the ground where the shiny object rested.

_It's good to see you again,_ Quil stated, nudging the side of Jacob's head with his own.

_It's good to see you, too,_ Jake replied, before taking a shaky breath. _Okay, let's get this over with._

He phased and wobbled a little when he got back on his feet. He laughed quietly.

"I guess it's been awhile. I gotta get used to feet again."

I phased as well and untied his clothes and gave them to him before pulling on my shorts. Per Jake's request, I also cut his hair. It wasn't the neatest job, but at least it was somewhat orderly. Just as I suspected, Jacob's clothes were now too small for him. The pants were just above his ankles. He was also taller than I was. I felt a little disgruntled by that fact.

"I guess I'm ready," Jacob said, before looking over at the reception area. A spasm of pain flitted across his face as he saw Bella dancing in Edward's arms.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked as I looked at the naked longing on Jake's face.

"Yeah, I need to say goodbye to her. After tonight I won't see her again. She told me he was going to turn her into a leech after they got married. When that happens, she won't be my Bella anymore."

"We'll be close by in case you need us, all right?" I told him.

"You think I need a babysitter?" Jacob asked sarcastically.

"No, I think you need moral support," I replied evenly. He looked at me for a minute before nodding. He started walking towards the house. I phased and followed him. After we got within a mile of the place, Jacob stopped moving.

"Edward, I'm here per your invite. Mind if I talk to Bella for a minute?" he asked. Bella and Edward were still dancing, but I saw Edward's face break out into a smile.

"What is it?" We heard Bella question.

"A surprise wedding gift," Edward replied.

"Huh?" Bella asked, but Edward didn't answer. He danced her over to the area where Jacob was.

"Thank you. This is very kind of you." Edward said.

"Kind is my middle name," Jake replied. "Can I cut in?"

"Jacob!" Bella cried. "Jacob!"

"Hey there, Bells," Jacob said tenderly.

_Come on, let's give them some privacy,_ I told Quil.

We walked a little ways away. Close enough where we could give them some semblance of being alone, but still near enough in case we were needed. Unfortunately, we could hear everything they were saying, so Quil and I began to discuss football.

_The Seahawks season opener is in a few weeks,_ I stated. _You want to come over? We could have a party. I'll even attempt to grill hotdogs._

Quil grimaced at the mention of my legendary bad cooking. _Actually, I'm going to Makah for the day to watch the game with Ronnie._

_Plus Claire being there will be an added bonus,_ I said with a snicker.

_Yeah, I thought about that,_ Quil joked.

_Smooth. Get in good with the father, huh?_

_Well, at least when we talk about football, he stops looking at me suspiciously. Did I tell you that when I was there last week for Claire's birthday, I actually helped him hunt for a wolf that keeps coming to the area? We went out before you and Emily arrived. _

_You've got to stop going there at night. You're freaking out my future in-laws,_ I told Quil, not serious though.

I wouldn't interfere with his imprint unless my own asked me to. Remembering Claire's third birthday celebration, I started to laugh. Claire had received play make-up as a present. She had tested it out on Quil and made him wear a pink crown the entire party.

Quil started to feel embarrassed by my memories. He said stiffly, _Yeah well, I—_

We both stopped talking as we felt a sudden change in the air.

_Jacob!_ I shouted at the same time Quil yelled, _No!_

Jacob was very close to phasing, we could feel it. Quil and I started running back to the area he was in. We saw him standing next to Bella, holding her hands tightly in his.

"Ow, Jake! Let go!" Bella cried.

"Bella! Have you lost your mind?" Jacob yelled, shaking badly. "You can't be that stupid! Tell me you're joking!"

"Jake—stop!"

"Take your hands off her!" Edward's cold voice ordered as he appeared out of nowhere.

I could see Jasper and Emmett starting to move in the direction where Jake, Edward, and Bella were standing. Quil and I growled in warning. Seth suddenly arrived, having sensed the new tension in the air. He went over and stood next to Jacob.

"Jake, bro, back away," he said calmly. "You're losing it."

Jacob froze, but he didn't let go.

"You'll hurt her. Let her go," Seth pleaded. Jasper and Emmett stopped about fifteen feet away from where the confrontation was happening. Quil and I simultaneously took a few steps closer, ready to protect Jake at all costs.

"Now!" Edward snarled.

Jake dropped his hands as he stared at Edward with absolute loathing. Seth put his arms around Jacob and started pushing him back towards where Quil and I were waiting.

"C'mon Jake. Let's go." Seth said soothingly.

"I'll kill you," Jacob said is a furious whisper as he stared at Edward. "I'll kill you myself! I'll do it now!"

I growled, my own temper becoming frayed. Did I need to howl and get the rest of the pack here for backup? I decided against it. The Cullens had invited us as a goodwill gesture. My number one priority needed to be getting Jacob out of here. He was still trembling badly. I knew he was very close to phasing at any minute. I shifted nervously. Seth was standing way too close to his pissed off brother.

Reading my thoughts, Edward said, "Seth, get out of the way."

Seth continued to push Jacob away from the Cullen home. "Don't do it, Jake. Walk away. C'mon."

I went over to assist Seth, pushing Jacob in the chest with my head. We managed to get him farther away from the house. Quil didn't move. He was glaring at Bella and Edward.

"I'm sorry," Bella whispered to him. Odd that she had just broken her best friend's heart for the millionth time. And yet she was still out of focus to Quil; too blissfully happy to realize the full extent of the damage she had just done. What a bitch.

_Will you keep her away from Jake from now on?_ Quil asked Edward. _Let him be the one to approach her?_

Edward nodded stiffly. With a disgusted huff, Quil turned and quickly rejoined us. We hadn't even gone a hundred feet before Jacob could no longer control himself. He exploded out of his clothes.

_I'll kill him. I'll kill that stupid, selfish son of a bitch! He'll kill her!_ Jacob screamed as images of their conversation flashed through his mind. Apparently, Mr. and Mrs. Bloodsucker were planning a real honeymoon. We all cringed at the idea.

_Do you see what I mean? He doesn't deserve to live!_ Jake yelled and started run back to the house.

_Jacob, stop!_ I ordered using the Alpha command. Jacob instantly collapsed to his feet. _This is their wedding, and you will not disturb it anymore. Leave the property. Now!_

He slowly got to his feet, glaring at me before he turned and left the area. Seth shed his clothes and phased as well. We sat in the distance and watched the rest of the party, keeping an eye on Seth's mom and Billy.

I felt Jacob's pain as we continued to watch Bella and Edward dance and kiss on the dance floor. Bella soon disappeared with Alice. Some time later, we saw Bella and Edward get into a car and drive down the long driveway.

As the car disappeared in the distance, we heard Jacob's devastated howl echo through the night.

_**A/N – Please Review**_


	29. Divided

**Chapter 29 – Divided**

Sam's POV

"So what do you think?" Emily asked.

I opened up my tired eyes and tried to focus on what Emily was showing me. In her hand was a burning candle of multiple colors. The smell made my nose wrinkle up in disgust.

"It smells like burnt tires."

"Well, that's not my fault. The next time you decide to buy useless items like candle wax at the store, try to pick up some scented wax. I think this one came out pretty good my self."

"Yankee Candle couldn't have done any better. It's great Em, really." I sat up from where I was lazily sprawled on the couch to give Emily's work my full attention.

She had been on a roll the past month making one new candle every week. This was her fourth creation. And with it, went the last of the candle wax supplies. It actually did look really good. Too bad it stunk so badly.

Emily sniffed as she put her cherished creation proudly on the table next to the couch and sat down next to me. I reached over and pulled her on to my lap and softy started kissing her neck. She giggled for a moment before pulling away.

Emily glanced at me coyly and said, "So are you ready for a fun filled afternoon of shopping?"

I groaned in response. Emily and I had set the date for the wedding and booked a church and reception hall. We were now planning a shopping trip to Port Angeles to get things set up.

Emily's mom and sister-in-law, who were staying with the Clearwaters, were coming with us. Sue had been asked to go as well but decided to stay behind. Billy and Old Quil were coming over to her house for a meeting. I was taking a break from patrolling for a few hours. I had left Collin and Brady to patrol on their own for a while so that I could go shopping with Emily. I knew Jacob was around though and they only had to howl if there was trouble.

We heard a knock on the door and Emily went to answer it. Soon the air was filled with the excited chatter of Stacy and Emily's mother, Eva, from the kitchen. Stacy walked into the living room and I went over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"The girls didn't want to come with you?" I asked looking behind her for Cora and Claire.

"Cora decided she wanted to stay at home with her dad. Claire is at Sue's. She keeps crying for Quil so I think Sue was going to call and see if he could stop by. That little girl of mine sure does think the world of Quil."

Emily and I exchanged smirking glances. Stacy sat carefully down on our overstuffed living room chair. I eyed her round pregnant belly warily.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" I asked.

"Yes," Stacy snapped, before smiling apologetically, "Sorry, you sound like my husband. But as I told him, I still have a month to go. I'll be fine, don't worry."

We all piled into Eva's car and headed for Port Angeles. Emily and I sat in the back seat holding hands the whole way down. We stopped by a party store first to look at invitations and table settings.

Who knew trying to decide what to place in the middle of a table at the reception could be so challenging. The women took over and it got to the point where I just sat back in nodded. After a while I noticed Emily also sit back as she let her sister-in-law and mother take over. It was finally decided that we would have mirrors placed in the middle of the tables with candles on top of mirrors.

Next we moved on to invitations. The women were excited over these as well. I protested only once when the invitation that Eva and Stacy agreed would be "just perfect" was too sappy. I knew that if it was sent out to the pack members, they would never let me hear the end of it. There seemed to be an endless amount of books filled with different invitations and my eyes began to gloss over.

"How bout this one, Sam?" Emily said laughing.

I looked at the card she was holding up for me. On the cover was a wolf howling at a heart shaped moon with the saying "we're moonstruck."

"Yeah, that's the one." I agreed and Emily rolled her eyes before flipping through another book of invitations.

When everything was finally ordered, we moved onto the next stop, which was the caterer. I was actually looking forward to this one because I was promised free cake samples. We walked into the shop and a tall, thin man approached us.

"Ello, ow may I elp you?" The man asked with an incredibly over the top French accent.

Yeah, like Port Angeles was the cuisine capital of the world that would draw international caterers. If this guy wasn't really from Portland or Seattle, I'd eat my shoe. I snickered out loud and felt Emily's elbow my stomach. Not that it hurt, but the implication was clear. I stopped laughing immediately.

We told the man what we were there for. He scoffed when he learned we were getting married the Saturday after New Year's. But he still agreed to make the cake anyway. We tried different samples and decided what we liked.

We started to head towards the florist shop next. I looked at Stacy in amazement. Even though she was eight months pregnant, she looked like she could go for another eight hours. I felt like I was going to drop on my feet as I begrudgingly dragged myself to the next stop. When my phone rang, I jumped at it like a lifeline. I excused myself and walked outside the shop.

"Hello?" I asked.

"It's Seth. Listen, Charlie Swan was trying to track down Billy, and he finally got a hold of him at my house. I guess Bella and Edward are back, but Bella's really sick."

I froze for a minute, before asking "Does Jacob know?"

"I don't think so. Paul was hanging out with Rachel when Charlie called there, but when I talked to him, he said that Jacob had stepped out. Paul said he thought he heard Jacob on the beach with Quil and Claire."

"Okay, listen. Don't tell anyone else what you told me. We don't need Jacob going off right now. I'm on my way back." I said before disconnecting the call. I stepped back into the shop and walked over to Emily and her family.

"Listen, an emergency just came up and I need to leave." I told Emily, cradling her face for a quick kiss before I whispered for her ears only, "Its pack business."

Emily nodded in understanding, but looked disappointed. I pulled her in for another quick kiss.

"But how will you get back?" Eva asked.

"Uh…I know someone in town who can give me a ride back. Sorry to run out, ladies," I said before reaching out and kissing Emily's hand.

I let it go and turned and walked out of the shop quickly and ran faster than what was probably humanly possible. I ran until I hit the forest. As soon as I was out of sight, I phased and headed back to La Push as quickly as I could. Collin and Brady were still on patrol so I quickly filled them in. I felt Seth phase and told him where to meet Collin and Brady.

All of us were concerned. Jacob was filled with vengeance right now. He wanted nothing more than to attack and kill all of the Cullens. It was about revenge, pure and simple. I had already had to talk with Jacob more than once about why we wouldn't attack the Cullens. I kept having to remind him that we wouldn't break the treaty, until the Cullens breached it first, but he wouldn't listen.

Quite frankly, he was getting on my nerves and had been ever since he came back from his little jaunt. Whenever I thought of Jacob anymore, I felt this nagging anger at the back of my neck. Talking to him made me feel like a broken record. I kept saying the same things over and over and it was pissing me off.

I was getting to the point where I just wanted to order him to stop thinking of the Cullens, but while I knew I could stop his actions, I couldn't stop his thoughts. The problem was he was too emotionally tide to the Cullen situation and couldn't think objectively. He was putting his own needs before the needs of the tribe and I was tired of it.

I got back to La Push in minutes. As soon as I reached the border, I let out a howl and soon felt several simmers in the air as people phased. I focused on the one voice I was most concerned with.

Jacob was thinking about Bella's wedding. How he had wanted to kill Edward Cullen so badly that night. I could see he was also angry at me for putting the Alpha order on him not to attack. He hated when I gave him an order.

"So self-absorbed all the time," Leah chimed in.

"Yeah, no hypocrisy there, Leah," Jacob sneered back.

"Can it, guys," I said.

Leah took offense to the word "guys." I was waiting to feel Jared and Quil, but they hadn't joined us yet. I thought that Quil was with Jacob?

"Where's Quil and Jared?" I asked.

"Quil's got Claire. He's taking her to the Clearwater house." Jacob replied.

"Good. Sue will take her."

"Jared was going to Kim's" Embry said. "Good chance he didn't hear you."

We all shifted uncomfortably. None of us wanted to see inside Jared's head right now. I'm sure Kim wouldn't want us to either. I let out another howl so the rest of the pack would find where I was waiting with Seth, Collin, and Brady.

"Well, we're not waiting all day for him. He'll just have to catch up later." I told them.

"Sup, boss?" Paul asked.

"We need to talk. Something's happened." Those of us who knew that Bella was back shifted our focus to Jacob. I felt him wonder in return why we thinking of him.

"Seth, tell them what you heard." I instructed at the same time I heard Jacob mock Leah for claiming she was the fastest wolf.

"Claim this moron," she yelled.

"Jake, Leah, give it a rest." I said irritated before adding, "Seth?"

"Charlie called around till he found Billy at my house." Seth responded.

"Yeah, I talked to him," Paul added.

I felt a tremor go through Jacob's body. This was what we were waiting for. Seth hesitated before continuing.

"So he's all flipped out. Guess Edward and Bella got home last week, and…"

I paid close attention to Jacob's emotions as Seth repeated what he had heard. Bella was home and she was sick with some rare disease. Charlie had been told that she was under quarantine and no one could see her. He had talked to her a couple of times on the phone, but she had sounded worse when he'd talked to her today.

Jacob was furious. He was wondering if they were going to tell Charlie that she "died" of this disease. If they were going to bury her, and she would have to dig herself out of her vampire grave. He was still thinking these thoughts when Leah and Jacob burst into the clearing that we were standing in.

"Beatcha again," Leah said, but Jacob ignored her.

"What are we waiting for?" He asked, looking at me. I hesitated and felt the same reluctance from the rest of the pack.

"Oh come on! The treaty's broken." Jacob yelled.

"We have no proof—maybe she is sick…" I started to say but Jacob interrupted.

"OH, PLEASE!"

"Okay, so the circumstantial evidence is pretty strong," I replied, "Still, Jacob. Are you sure this is what you want? Is it really the right thing? We all know what she wanted."

"The treaty doesn't mention anything about victim preferences, Sam!" Jacob argued.

We went back and forth on the issue with Seth chiming in, in favor of the Cullens. We continued until we heard Quil say, "Dang, what'd I miss? Heard about Charlie's call…"

"We're getting ready to go," Jacob responded, "Why don't you swing by Kim's and drag Jared out with your teeth? We're going to need everyone."

The nagging that always seem to be in my neck whenever Jacob was around anymore seemed to shoot down my spine and I became so angry that I actually saw red. He wasn't the Alpha male. He turned his back on that path a while ago.

"Come straight here, Quil." I spit out. "We've decided nothing yet." And Jacob growled like the whiny bitch he was. I took a deep breath to calm myself.

"Jacob, I have to think about what's best for the pack. I have to choose the course that protects you all best. Times have changed since our ancestors made that treaty. I…well, I don't believe that the Cullens are a danger to us. And we know that they will not be here much longer. Surely once they've told their story, they will disappear. Our lives can return to normal."

"Normal?" Jacob asked sarcastically. I was getting fed up with his attitude.

"If we challenge them, Jacob, they will defend themselves well."

"Are you afraid?" He sneered.

"Are you so ready to lose a brother?" I asked and felt Leah wince, so I added on lamely, "Or a sister?"

"I'm not afraid to die."

"I know that, Jacob. It's one reason I question your judgment on this."

"Coward." He yelled. Fury raced over me.

"Enough Jacob. You're overruled." I told him in my Alpha voice. I looked at the rest of the pack and told them also under command that we would not be attacking the Cullens because of Bella's choice.

Jacob went storming off saying that he was going to say goodbye to his father since there was no point of staying around here any longer. As he fled, he started blocking us from his thoughts as he thought about the time he had lived completely as a wolf. And then there was silence as he phased back into human form.

There was something in his rebellious arguments and attempts to block us out of his mind right before he phased, that made the nagging pain in my neck explode over my entire body.

_**A/N – Please Review**_


	30. Abomination

_A/N – This is it…the chapter I've been waiting to write since I started this story. I've had it planned out for a long time so I hope you like it._

**Chapter 30 – Abomination**

Sam's POV

I gave Jacob 10 minutes to phase back, more than enough time for him to say goodbye to Billy. He should have phased back by now if he was intending to go back to being a wolf permanently like he threatened. When he didn't, the suspicion that he would go after the Cullens in human form caused the nagging in the back of my neck to intensify all over again. Seth, standing next to me, let out a whine.

"Alright, I'm heading to the Black house. I'll be right back." I told the pack. As soon as I got close to the forest edge, I phased back and crossed the road to Jake's home. Billy opened the door soon after I knocked on it.

I took one look at his face and felt my hands begin to tremble as I said, "He went to the Cullens, didn't he?"

Billy looked down at the floor and with a worried expression nodded slowly. I started swearing violently. I stopped when I glanced at Billy.

"This is great. If the Cullens kill Jacob, what do you want us to do? Retaliate?" I asked bluntly and regretted it as Billy's face went pale.

"Do you think they'll kill him?"

"I think there is an extremely good chance that if he attacks, they'll defend themselves." I replied softly. It pained me when Billy's eyes welled up with tears.

"I think I better go talk to Sue and Quil," Billy mumbled even as a tear went down his face. I reached over and squeezed his shoulder.

"I'll make sure to let you know if we hear any updates," I assured him though I knew it was little comfort.

I ran back into the woods and phased again. "Jacob went to the Cullens. Prepare yourself for retaliation. I want everyone spread into pairs along the border. Collin you go with Embry, Brady you go with Quil. Paul, get Jared and tell him to get his ass out here, and then station your self close to the reservation."

"What about Jacob?" Embry asked.

The uncontrollable fury that I felt but didn't quite understand, rushed over me again. "He chose his fate. His actions may have resulted in a war between us and the Cullens. We need to concentrate on protecting the tribe right now and not worry about Jacob."

I knew that the pack was concerned, but they still spread out and stationed themselves along the treaty line. I soon felt Jared join us as Paul stayed close to the rez as instructed. He had recently imprinted on Jacob's sister Rachel, much to Jacob's disgust. If we heard any news on Jacob, Paul would track down Billy and Rachel and give them an update. I didn't know how long we were patrolling before I felt Jacob phase.

"Jacob, Jake." The pack members called out in relief.

"Come home now!" I ordered, rage racing through me.

I felt Paul phase out as he went to give Billy an update. As Jacob started heading back in our direction, memories flashed through his head, and we saw what Jacob had just witnessed. No one spoke as we froze in shock. Bella Swan was pregnant with the vampire's spawn. We saw that the monster inside her womb was killing her.

The pack left the boundary of La Push and headed to a clearing to meet Jacob halfway. With the exception of Jacob and Paul, the rest of the pack made it to the clearing at the same time. I began pacing as I waited for the other two to join us.

Paul and Jacob made it to the clearing at the same time. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck standing straight up. I started growling when Jacob approached. The rest of the pack moved restlessly. Everyone was on edge.

Excluding Jacob and Seth, the rest of the pack was thinking the same thing. The treaty didn't cover the kind of abomination that the Cullens had created. It wasn't safe to have it living so close to the tribe. We needed to get rid of it…get rid of it now.

We saw through Jake's mind that while the Cullens feared the monster they had created, they weren't going to do anything about it. Through memories, we saw the blonde female vampire crouched protectively over Bella Swan.

The pack began to strategize. We were going to need the element of surprise. Jared thought it best that we find a way to divide them and take them down separately. It would increase our chances of victory.

"Wait," I heard Jacob say.

"There's little time," I responded.

"But—what are you thinking? You wouldn't attack them for breaking the treaty this afternoon. Now you're planning an ambush, when the treaty is still intact?"

I reminded him that our treaty didn't cover this kind of monstrosity. That this thing could be violent, beyond restraint and a real threat to humans. I thought about a baby vampire completely out of control being protected by the Cullens.

"We don't know--" Jacob started to say

"We don't know," I interrupted. "And we can't take chances with the unknown in this case. We can only allow the Cullens to exist while we're absolutely sure that they can be trusted not to cause harm. This…thing cannot be trusted."

"They don't like it any more than we do." Jacob argued.

I thought of the blonde vampire protecting Bella. "Some are ready to fight for it, no matter what it is."

"It's just a baby for crying out loud." Jacob yelled.

"Not for long," Leah responded.

"Jake, buddy, this is a big problem," Quil chimed in. "We can't just ignore it.'

"You're making it into something bigger than it is," Jacob argued. "The only one who's in danger here is Bella."

I felt like I was going to erupt with anger. I wished Jacob was human so I could punch him in his arrogant face. "Again by her own choice. But this time her choice affects us all."

"I don't think so." Jacob responded.

"We can't take that chance. We won't allow a blood drinker to hunt on our lands."

"Then tell them to leave," Seth begged.

"And inflict the menace on others? When blood drinkers cross our land, we destroy them, no matter where they plan to hunt. We protect everyone we can."

"This is crazy," Jacob yelled again, "This afternoon you were afraid to put the pack in danger."

I thought for a moment of attacking Jacob even in wolf form. A small part of me wondered if the anger was even justified, but the larger part of me only saw red. I looked at the pack for a moment, surprised that no one was reacting to my thoughts before I turned to look back at Jacob.

"This afternoon I didn't know our families were at risk."

Jacob glared at me "I can't believe this! How're you going to kill this creature without killing Bella?"

No one answered, but the whole pack stilled for a moment. Jacob howled.

"She's human too! Doesn't our protection apply to her?"

"She's dying anyway. We'll just shorten the process." Leah said carelessly. Jacob lunged at her for that. I jumped and bit into his flank, not as hard as I would have liked, but with enough force to drag him away from Leah. He howled in pain much to my satisfaction. He turned on me.

"Stop!" I ordered and watched him jerk to a halt. I took a deep breath to try and control my unreasonable anger.

"You will not be cruel to him, Leah," I commanded and watched her drop, but her eyes glared at me furiously. I looked over at Jacob and saw him through a red haze.

I felt like a robot, completely emotionless as I said, "Bella's sacrifice is a heavy price, and we will all recognize that. It is against everything we stand for to take a human life. Marking an exception to that code is a bleak thing. We will mourn for what we do tonight."

"Tonight," Seth squeaked out. "Sam—I think we should talk about this some more. Consult with the Elders, at least. You can't seriously mean for us to--"

I was tired of this. I wasn't going to argue anymore. The decision was made.

"We can't afford your tolerance for the Cullens now. There is no time for debate. You will do as you are told, Seth." I ordered and watched him drop to his knees, his face almost touching the ground. I looked at Jacob and under the Alpha voice told him that he would fight with us against the Cullens. I watched his knees wobble under the weight of my command.

I felt detached from myself as I continued issuing out orders, planning the best way to attack. A part of me couldn't believe that I had just condemned Bella Swan to death, especially without talking to the Elders first.

I hated seeing Seth and Jacob or any member of the pack being forced to do something against their will. But I didn't see any other way around it. We had no choice. It was our duty to take care of the problem. Not only for our tribe's protection, but for the protection of all humanity.

I broke down which pack member would attack which Cullen. Jacob continued to argue and I had to issue another Alpha command against him, ordering him to put the tribe first.

We were continuing to strategize when I felt something change. I was talking to Jared and Paul when I sensed Jacob walk over to me.

He looked me straight in the eye and said, "No."

I jumped away from him as I heard something in his voice that he never had before. He voice echoed with the Alpha sound. Rage and shock poured over me like acid as I saw him through a red haze again.

"Jacob? What have you done?"

"I won't follow you, Sam. Not for something so wrong."

"You would…you would choose your enemies over your family?" I asked. I couldn't believe that he would do this.

"They aren't--" he started to say, before shaking his head. "They aren't our enemies. They never have been. Until I really thought about destroying them, thought it through, I didn't see that."

"This isn't about them," I yelled. I honestly wanted to kill him in that moment. I was surprised again that the rest of the pack didn't react to my thoughts. Could they not feel my intention?

I glared at him as I continued. "This is about Bella. She has never been the one for you, she has never chosen you, but you continue to destroy your life for her."

"Maybe you're right. But you're going to destroy the pack over her, Sam. No matter how many of them survive tonight, they will always have murder on their hands."

"We have to protect our families!" I yelled, losing control.

"I know what you've decided, Sam. But you don't decide for me, not anymore."

"Jacob—you can't turn your back on the tribe." I ordered in my Alpha voice and watched with a clenched jaw as the command fell uselessly against him.

Jacob looked at me arrogantly and said, "Ephraim Black's son was not born to follow Levi Uley's."

"Is this it, then, Jacob Black?" I shouted. I wanted to lunge at him. I wanted to snap his disloyal neck. I felt crazy with rage and I said like an insane person, "Even if you can defeat me, the pack will never follow you!"

Jacob jumped back in surprise. Why was he so calm? I wanted to commit murder against one of my brothers, and he was standing there like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Defeat you? I'm not going to fight you, Sam," he responded.

"Then what's your plan? I'm not stepping aside so that you can protect the vampire spawn at the tribe's expense."

"I'm not telling you to step aside," he said condescendingly.

"If you order them to follow you--"

"I'll never take anyone's will from him," he replied.

That was it! I was going to kick his puney ass all the way back to Canada. If I didn't kill him first!

I went straight over to him and exposed my teeth. "There cannot be more than one Alpha. The pack has chosen me. Will you rip us apart tonight? Will you turn on your brothers? Or will you end this insanity and join us again."

For the first time, I felt Jacob begin to get angry in return. I could see it in his body. He wanted to attack me just as badly as I wanted to go after him. I saw Jacob take a deep breath before he stepped back.

"There is only one Alpha for this pack. I'm not contesting that. I'm just choosing to go my own way."

"Do you belong to a coven now, Jacob?" I taunted and he flinched.

"I don't know Sam. But I do know this--" he said and the force of his Alpha voice sent me back a few steps. He was stronger than me and it pissed me off to acknowledge it. "I will stand between you and the Cullens. I won't just watch while the pack kills innocent people. The pack is better than that. Lead them in the right direction, Sam."

He turned and ran off in the direction of the Cullen house. The entire pack broke out into howls. I was furious. So much for the element of surprise. All of a sudden, Seth took off running in the direction that Jacob disappeared into.

"Seth!" I yelled, but he didn't respond.

I began swearing for 10 minutes straight as I cursed out Jacob Black. Everyone stopped howling. It was then that we noticed for the first time that we could no longer hear either Jacob or Seth. Leah kept whining softly as she could no longer feel her brother's presence.

"Alright, break up into patrols, there's no point in attacking tonight," I ordered before adding, "I'm going to go home for a minute to call one of the Elders. I want to arrange a meeting with them for tomorrow morning to discuss what we should do next. Be on alert. The Cullens might retaliate. If you even so much as get a whiff of vampire, attack first and ask questions later."

The pack nodded, still shocked by the night's events. Everyone broke off and headed to their different spots along the border line. Leah was the only one who stayed behind. She walked cautiously towards me.

"Would you mind if I go home instead of patrolling tonight? I want to tell my mom what happened. She'll probably be worried about Seth."

I looked at her suspiciously for a minute, but couldn't sense any deception, and I nodded slowly. "Fine, will you tell her I want to meet with her tomorrow morning."

"Sure," she mumbled and took off running. I went back to my house and phased, storming in through the slider and startling Emily in the process. I made my way to the kitchen and called old Quil.

"What's going on Sam?" Quil Sr. asked.

I explained everything that happened. He agreed that we needed to meet and we arranged to meet at 7 am the next morning. He promised to follow up with Sue and Billy so that I could get back to patrolling.

"One more thing Quil. There were a few times tonight that I knew the rest of the pack couldn't hear me. How is that possible?" I asked.

"Well it's rare, but sometimes when the Alpha gets into an emotional state, they can block out the rest of their pack. I've only heard of one case before, and that was when an Alpha suspected a brother of betraying his pack."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," I murmured, shaking again as I thought of Jacob's actions tonight.

I hung up and moved into the living room. Emily took one look at my face and jumped up from the chair she had been sitting in. She didn't come near me though as I began to tremble harder. The rage began to race through me as I felt the fire burn along my spine. It was a miracle that I hadn't phased yet.

"What happened?" Emily whispered in a scared voice.

"Jacob fucking Black is what happened." I yelled.

I grabbed something off of the table next to the couch and threw it as hard as I could against the wall across the room. I watched with satisfaction as the wall dented under the force of the object. Whatever I threw shattered into a thousand pieces.

The room began to blur as heat shot viciously down my spine again and I knew I was about to lose it. I glanced over at Emily and saw that she had moved around the chair, away from me. She was standing with her back against the wall, staring at me with terrified eyes.

It was the look on her face that reduced my level of shaking. I hadn't lost control around Emily since I hurt her. I never thought I would see her looking at me with that petrified expression ever again.

I dropped to my knees and laid my palms on the floor, taking a deep breath. I was still trembling, but I tried to get control. I couldn't believe what I had just done. I sat back on my knees and closed my eyes tightly. I heard Emily move and I felt her arms wrap tightly around me.

"Go! I don't have control yet," I warned, but she held on tighter.

I couldn't resist and wrapped my arms around her too. I put my face in her neck and inhaled deeply. Her honeysuckle scent soothed away some of the anger I felt. I was able to get more control. She pulled away and cradled my face with both hands.

"What happened?" She repeated softly.

I told her everything, including my insane urge to harm Jacob, and the fact that I had ordered an attack to kill Bella. I also went into detail on the uncontrollable hate that I had felt towards Jacob, and the anger that had been nagging at me since his return. I had never told her about it before because I never thought it was worth mentioning until tonight. When I got done, Emily surprised me by smiling a little bit.

"What?" I asked in surprise.

"I was just thinking about something I saw on the Discovery channel the other day. They were doing this thing on wolves and they were showing Alpha males battling with each other. You told me before that Jacob was supposed to be the Alpha of the pack, but he didn't want it."

"So what? You think I should just turn the pack over to him, even though he's putting the leeches before us?" I asked stunned.

"No, that's not what I'm saying at all. What I'm saying is that you always told me that Jacob was always defiant."

"Well, yeah, but I thought he was just a teenager who needed to grow up. But now I wonder if he's just a control freak. He tried to control Bella, he tried to control the situation with the Cullens, and now he's trying to control my pack." I ranted and heard Emily's soft laugh. I looked at her in surprise again.

"So are you Sam," she gently whispered.

"I don't try to control you," I heard the anguish in my tone.

"No, not me, but the pack…yes, you definitely do."

"If I were the control freak that Jacob is, I'd be ordering you around all the time." I argued.

"Maybe it's the magic of the imprint. You protect me, but you don't control me. I wonder…"

"Wonder what?"

"Well, you told me before that Jacob was the rebellious one in the pack. Always defying orders, always doing what he wanted, and how he found ways around what you ordered. And you said he was always angry or depressed."

"Yeah?"

"Maybe on some subconscious level his inner Alpha was rebelling against you. You know, trying to come out and fight back even though he consciously denied the power. He was fighting you and himself."

"What about my reaction to him? Em, I really wanted to hurt him." And it shamed me to remember the uncontrollable rage that I'd had.

"Maybe like the power of imprinting, there's a power that exists between Alphas. In the show I watched, the male would attack the other male if the opposing Alpha tried to go near his pack. Maybe you've felt that nagging because Jacob has been on your turf so to speak for awhile now, and tonight you acted like any normal Alpha would while defending his pack. I don't know though…maybe it's just a stupid theory."

Actually it made a lot of sense. It explained Jacob's mood swings and his need to control situations. It also explained to me why I had been so angry with Jacob lately. I looked down at Emily in amazement and kissed her before resting my forehead against hers.

"What do you think about the problem with Bella?"

"Honestly? I'm glad you didn't get a chance to attack her Sam. Bella's such a sweet girl."

"You think she's sweet after everything she did to Jacob?"

"I think she's made some tough choices and doesn't always choose for the best," Emily sighed before saying unhappily, "From what it sounds like, it doesn't seem like she's going to live for much longer. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to keep my meeting with the Elders tomorrow morning and proceed from there." I responded and felt like the weight of the world was crushing me. "You know what kills me the most? That Seth left. If anything happens to Harry's son, I'll never forgive myself."

"At least you know that Edward Cullen likes him. I think he'll be okay Sam, I really do."

I sighed and got up off the floor, pulling Emily up with me. I looked over at the dent in the wall and down at the shattered glass. I sucked in a deep breath as I realized I'd thrown Emily's prized homemade candle.

"Oh God, Em, I'm so sorry," I told her, moving over to clean up the mess I had made.

"It's okay Sam, I'll clean it up. I know you have to get back to patrolling."

I kneeled down on the floor and proceeded to clean it up any how. I felt a tug on my shoulder and looked up into Emily's beautiful face. She grabbed my chin and leaned in to gently kiss my lips.

"It's okay," she repeated softly.

"You worked so hard on that candle."

"But you were right, it did smell like burnt tires when it burned so I'm not upset about it. I was going to throw it away anyway."

I got off the floor and picked her up off her feet, holding her against me so that I could kiss her parted lips.

"Thank you Emily," I whispered before kissing her again. I gently put her back on her feet and headed out to the backyard to begin my patrol.

_**A/N – So what'd you think? I'd love to get reviews on this one. I'd like to send a shout out to the Discovery channel for recently airing a documentary on wolf packs. Emily's source of knowledge was based on a real show. hehe.**_


	31. Leah's Defection

_A/N – Hey, just want to make sure you all know, I love Jacob, he's one of my favorite characters. However, in my story, he is seen in a bad light because this is Sam's perspective. For obvious Alpha reasons, Sam has a very tainted view of Jacob. So there is no Jacob hate intended. I hope you enjoy this chapter._

**Chapter 31 – Leah's Defection**

Sam's POV

I dragged my exhausted body through the door of the Black home with Jared following close behind. We had been up all night patrolling. We hadn't seen either the Cullens or Jacob and Seth, but we weren't about to let our guard down.

I was meeting with the Elders to discuss the current situation with Bella. I had asked Jared to act as my second. If we were going to negotiate with Jacob instead of attacking, Jared was going to have to be the voice of the pack. If I went near Jacob, I didn't know if I'd be able to keep my composure. After we were done with this meeting, we were going to meet with the pack to update them on how we were going to proceed. Then, it was back to patrolling.

"Sam, Jared come in and sit down. You both look exhausted." Quil Sr. said.

I sat down on the couch in Billy's living room. Jared took the chair next to me. Billy came in with a couple of plates of food on his lap and handed one to Jared and one to me. Sue followed Billy with a couple of cups of coffee. We both ate our food quickly.

"Leah filled me in on the basics, but why don't you start at the beginning and tell us firsthand what happened last night." Sue requested.

I proceeded to tell the Elders everything, from learning about Bella's pregnancy to Jacob and Seth breaking away from the pack. Sue flinched when I mentioned Seth. Billy sat stiffly in his chair, looking out the living room window.

"The question is, how do we proceed from here? We could attack, but we've lost the element of surprise. Plus, Seth and Jacob would get in the way. I fear that if we did attack there would be casualties, a lot of them." I explained.

"But do we sit back and do nothing and give this monster a chance to live?" Old Quil asked. "Do we risk the lives of not only the people of our tribe, but also the people in the surrounding areas?"

"We could wait…" I started to say, but Quil Sr. shook his head.

With the exception of Quil Jr., old Quil wasn't connected to this situation. He hadn't eaten breakfast with Bella Swan on several occasions. He hadn't fought side by side with the Cullens. Therefore, it was easy for him to make a decision.

"We shouldn't give the abomination a chance." Quil Sr. stated. "We must try to stop the situation for the sake of everyone involved. We are stronger than they are. Furthermore, you have repeatedly told us that Bella Swan has requested to be changed into a bloodsucker. A newborn vampire so close to the reservation is dangerous. I say we take care of the issue now and get both problems out of the way."

Sue looked at him carefully before responding.

"But they are strong too. And from what we have been told, Bella will most likely die anyways. Besides, the mind reader would hear the pack coming. And now Jacob and my son are in the way. If you attacked now, too many people would lose their lives. The Cullens have not threatened us before. Do we really want to risk the peace for some unknown entity? I say we wait."

I looked over at Billy to see his reaction.

"You are asking for my blessing to not only risk my son's life and to risk the lives of the pack, but you're also asking permission to murder my best friend's daughter," his voice broke on those last words. "I won't agree to you attacking the Cullens. I agree with Sue. We wait for the outcome. We need to see what's going to happen."

I nodded slowly and stood up. Jared did likewise. I felt a sense of relief at their words. In the early morning light and away from Jacob's annoying presence, my head felt clearer, much clearer than it had the previous night. I didn't feel comfortable with the idea of attacking the Cullens, especially with Bella there.

"Sam, will you be speaking with Jacob and Seth?" Sue asked.

"No Jared will. Now that Jacob's an Alpha, it's best if we're not around each other too much."

"Jared, please tell Seth to come home. Tell him I'm begging him," Sue pleaded even as Quil Sr. and Billy each grabbed a hand in support. Jared nodded and we left.

We went into the woods and phased. As soon as we were far enough away, I howled and felt pack members from different parts of the forest head in our direction. I waited for everyone to join us. The pack soon arrived to the area where Jared and I waited.

"Where's Leah?" I asked. Everyone looked around. "Has anyone seen her since last night?"

The pack shook their heads.

"She must have fallen asleep," I told them and felt their exhaustion and resentfulness in response.

"Well, at least someone got some sleep," Quil muttered. Everyone else grumbled in agreement.

"Alright, enough," I said. "It has been decided that we will wait and see what happens with Bella Swan."

"You know what I was thinking?" Paul wondered. "Do you think Bella and this thing will die and Jake will end up attacking them anyway?"

I thought about what Emily had said last night about how much she liked Bella. I remembered seeing Bella's pain while the Cullens were gone. I thought of the gentleness of Dr. Cullen while he worked to heal Jacob. A part of me hoped that everything worked out. For all of us. I looked at Paul.

"We just needed to concentrate on the here and now. We need to go talk to Jacob, but its best if he and I didn't go near each other right now." I said, remembering again the fury I had felt in his presence.

"Jared. You, Paul, Quil…" I looked around the group. "…and we'll have Leah go with you to talk to Jake and Seth. She might be able to convince Seth to come home, if nothing else."

I thought briefly of having Embry go instead of Paul, as Quil and Embry were the closest to Jacob. They might be able to make him see sense. But if things went the other way, the last thing I needed was Quil and Embry defecting and going with Jacob.

No matter how justified Jacob thought his reasons for defecting were, he still had turned his back on the tribe. If Quil and Embry went, I didn't want to take the risk of them following Jacob's lead and turning their backs on their duty as well.

Jacob was going against the whole reason we were created by protecting the parasites over the tribe. I'd be damned if I was going to let Quil and Embry forget what they were created for by joining Jacob. At least if Quil went, he had a reason to return to La Push. My future niece.

"Jared, let him know that we're not planning on attacking, and we're going to wait and assess the situation later. Try to talk him into coming back to the group. Tell him I'm sorry for trying to use the Alpha command against him." I instructed, though I doubted it would be possible for Jake and I to get over what happened last night.

"Embry, will you go and get Leah? Tell her we need her for our meeting." I requested and Embry turned and left. I soon felt him phase out. A few minutes later, Embry phased back.

"She's gone!"

"What?" I asked.

"Leah…she's gone. Sue hasn't seen her since she went to bed last night."

"Can you pick up her scent?" I asked as I slowly felt the rage burning in me again.

"Just a second…I think I can pick up her trail, but it's not too fresh." Embry responded.

I looked through his thoughts as he followed Leah's scent. She had walked for awhile in human form. When she got to the border, she phased. She had headed in the direction of the Cullen property.

I swore violently. I couldn't believe her defection. I knew that we had problems but for her to choose guarding the Cullens who she hated even more than me, over staying in my pack, was unbelievable to me.

"What do you want us to do?" Jared asked.

"Tell Lee-lee we want her home," I said, so upset that I unknowingly slipped and called her by her old nickname. "Beg her on your knees if you have too. I can't imagine Leah really wants to be there. Make sure she knows we all want her back."

If Leah had truly chosen the Cullens over my pack, I didn't know what good begging would do. But it was worth a shot. Although a tiny part of me rejoiced at the idea of Leah no longer being around to bring up uncomfortable memories, the idea of Leah being at risk after I had already hurt her so much made my stomach turn with guilt.

Actually, I couldn't believe that both Clearwaters had switched alliances. When it came to them being in my pack, I had always tried to be more than fair with them. I had done my best to not let my brothers verbally attack Leah. I guided and watched over Seth.

I felt rage, disappointment, and betrayal all at the same time. But one thought kept racing through my mind the most. If anything happened to either one of Harry's kids, I would never be able to live with myself.

"Collin, go with Jared, Paul, and Quil." I ordered. "Brady and Embry, go home and get some sleep. You'll be on duty this afternoon."

I watched as the group split and went their separate ways. I stayed where I was as I watched Jared, Paul, Quil, and Collin head to the Cullen property. They stopped when they picked up Jacob, Seth, and Leah's scents. I could tell that the three approached in wolf form.

Dammit to hell, she was there. I growled ferociously. Jared phased as the groups approached each other cautiously. Even seeing Jacob through the eyes of my brothers was enough to raise the hair on my neck.

"White flag of truce, Jake. We're here to talk." Jared said and I saw him frown. "It would be easier to talk if I could hear you, too."

Jacob's pack, and it really pissed me off to say that, stared blankly at Jared.

"Okay, I guess I'll just talk, then," Jared continued. "Jake, we want you to come back."

"Please Jake," Quil whined. Jacob looked at Quil, but I knew he didn't understand him.

"You've torn our family apart. It's not meant to be this way. We know that you feel…strongly about the situation with the Cullens. We know that's a problem. But this is an overreaction." Jared told him and Seth growled.

"Sam is willing to take this slowly, Jacob. He's calmed down, talked to the other Elders. They've decided that immediate action is in no one's best interest at this point. Billy and Sue agree with you, Jacob, that we can wait for Bella…to be separated from the problem. Killing her is not something any of us feel comfortable with."

Jacob started to growl at that. I had to resist the urge to growl back. Given the distance between us, if I growled in warning, only my pack would hear it. Jared held up his hands.

"Easy, Jake. You know what I mean. The point is, we're going to wait and reassess the situation. Decide later if there's a problem with the…thing."

I saw Jake, Seth, and Leah look at each other, obviously communicating. It was strange to see my former pack members so silent. We were once so connected and now look what Jacob Black had done to us.

"Jake?" Jared implored and I saw Jacob sigh. He looked at Leah and she snorted. She soon turned and headed into the forest. My pack moved restlessly.

"What are they up to?" Paul wondered suspiciously.

"Probably looking to see if this is a set up. That's what I'd do," I answered. My pack turned their attention to Jacob as he phased. Jared was still looking to where Leah had disappeared.

"Where's she going?" Jared inquired and then turned to see Jacob in front of him. "Oh, hey Jake."

"Hey Jared," Jacob said insolently and I felt my lips pull back from my teeth. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to listen to this conversation. It took every bit of self-control I had to not join my brothers and attack what was now my enemy pack.

"Thanks for talking to me." Jared said.

"Yeah."

"We want you to come home, man." Jared told him and Quil whined again in agreement.

"I don't know if it's that easy, Jared." Jacob answered.

"Come home, we can sort this out. You don't belong here. Let Seth and Leah come home, too."

Jacob had the nerve to laugh. "Right. Like I haven't been begging them to do that from hour one." And Seth snickered behind him.

Pain shot through me at the reminder of this betrayal.

"So, what now, then?" Jared asked.

"I don't know. But I'm not sure things could just go back to normal anyway, Jared. I don't how it works—it doesn't feel like I can just turn this Alpha thing off and on as the mood strikes. It feels sort of permanent."

"You still belong with us." Jared pleaded.

Jacob's eyebrows raised and my ears perked up curiously. "Two Alphas can't belong in the same place, Jared. Remember how close it got last night? The instinct is too competitive."

I felt disgruntled that Jacob had figured that out on his own. Emily had to be the one to tell me that. Of course, Jacob had all night to ponder that fact. I had been so out of control with rage that I hadn't been able to think straight. Sharp pain raced over me as I thought of the danger I had put Emily in last night. The pack shifted uncomfortably again.

Jared, even in human form, felt my discomfort and he was overly harsh and said, "So are you all just going to hang out with the parasites for the rest of your lives? You don't have a home here. You're already out of clothes. You gonna stay wolf all the time? You know Leah doesn't like eating that way."

"Leah can do whatever she wants when she gets hungry. She's here by her own choice. I'm not telling anyone what to do."

Fury shot through me again. He really was an obnoxious punk. Why had I ever worried about him? I heard Jared begin to try to guilt trip Seth into returning home but didn't really pay close attention. I saw Leah come back to where they were, but I was still too angry at Jacob to concentrate closely on the conversation.

I only started truly focusing again when I heard Jared say to Leah, "Sam told me to beg. He told me to literally get down on my knees if I have to. He wants you home, Lee-lee, where you belong."

Holy crap, did I really say Lee-lee? I only said that to Leah when we used to have sex. I saw Leah cringe and then start growling furiously. She was obviously cursing me out. If I hadn't felt so angry and upset about the situation, I would have laughed. Leah and I may have had our problems, but I had always admired her spirit.

Jared and Jacob continued to talk and I began to pace back and forth. I could feel the longing in Quil and I was glad that I hadn't let Embry go with them. The meeting between the packs was coming to a close.

"…Then the Cullens will probably go, and Seth and Leah will come home." Jacob was saying.

"And what about you, Jake?" I heard Jared ask.

"Back to the forest, I think. I can't really stick around La Push. Two Alphas means too much tension. 'Sides, I was headed that way anyway. Before this mess."

"What if we need to talk?" Jared asked.

"Howl—but watch the line, 'kay? We'll come to you. And Sam doesn't need to send so many. We aren't looking for a fight." Jacob instructed and I watched Jared stiffen.

"Who does this bitch think he is?" Paul asked, angry at Jacob's order.

"Your future brother-in-law, now shut-up." I told him. I wanted to analyze every word and emotion. Even though I secretly agreed with Paul and wanted to beat the shit out of Jake. I was pissed at Jacob's presumptuous attitude. Alpha for one night and he thinks he had the right to tell me what to do.

"Wait, Jared. Is Embry okay?" Jacob asked and I froze. Why was he asking about Embry? Was he trying to steal more of my pack? Was I really getting this paranoid?

"Embry? Sure, he's fine. Why?"

"Just wondering why Sam sent Collin?"

Jared stiffened for a minute. "That's not really your business anymore, Jacob."

"Guess not. Just curious."

"Embry's fine Jake, don't worry." Quil whispered and I thought Jacob glanced in his direction even though I knew he couldn't hear Quil.

"Keep alert Quil," I reminded him.

"I'll let Sam know about your…instructions. Goodbye, Jacob." Jared said.

Jacob sighed. "Yeah. Bye Jared. Hey, tell my dad that I'm okay, will you? And that I'm sorry, and that I love him."

"I'll pass that along."

"Thanks."

"C'mon, guys," Jared said. He turned and left the area and I felt everyone follow him but Quil. I heard Quil whimper softly to Jacob.

"Yeah, I miss you too, bro. It'll be okay."

"Quil, go with the pack." I said. I was frozen with tension, but I didn't order him. I really hated using the Alpha on someone and still felt ashamed by my lack of control the previous night.

"Tell Embry I miss having you two on my flanks." Jacob said. I felt Quil turn his head and look in the direction of where the other pack members were waiting. Jacob looked in the same direction and urged, "Yeah, go home."

Quil let out another whimper and headed back to the pack.

"So what do you think?" Jared asked me.

"Now we wait and see what happens with Bella."

_**A/N – Please Review**_


	32. Surprise

**Chapter 32 - Surprise**

Sam's POV

"Dammit, I need to talk to Sam!"

I was on patrol when I heard that particular voice call out. It was Jacob's voice. We hadn't spoken to him in a couple of days. Paul, Embry, Brady, and I were out patrolling for the morning while Jared, Quil, and Collin were taking the afternoon shift.

"Jacob?" I asked.

"What about him?" Paul inquired at the same time Jacob said, "Sam?"

"Jacob?" I repeated.

"Sam, you feeling okay?" Embry asked

"Would you guys shut-up for a second?" I told my pack.

"Sam…okay, this is weird. How are you hearing me?" Jacob questioned.

I thought about how I had been able to block the pack out of my mind the other night. "Maybe it's an Alpha thing?"

I felt my pack approaching me fast. Embry reached me first and I knew he was looking around for Jacob.

"He's not here?" Embry asked in a disappointed tone. I realized then that when I called out Jacob's name, Embry must have thought I was speaking with Jacob face to face. I guess he didn't think about the fact that he would have seen him through my eyes if I was facing Jacob.

"No, I…" I started to say, but Jacob said, "Sam, I really need to talk to you."

"So talk," I responded. Paul and Brady entered the area where Embry and I were standing. The pack exchanged worried looks. I rolled my eyes.

"Look, I'm alone. Can you meet me?" Jacob requested. "I don't think it would be a good idea for me to come to the reservation right now."

"Where do you want to meet?"

"The clearing that we were at a few days ago?"

It wasn't the greatest idea. It was the scene of Jacob's defection and my loss of control. But it was a half way point between the reservation and the Cullen property.

"How do I know I can trust you?" I asked

"Look, you can bring your pack if you want."

I debated that for a moment, before turning my head and looking at my pack, "I'm going to meet Jacob, I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Do you want us to go with you?" Paul asked.

"No, I'm going to meet him alone." If Jacob and I were going to have it out, I didn't need the pack to get in the way. I told Jacob, "I'm on my way, Jacob."

We arrived at the clearing at the same time, both standing on opposite sides of the area. We stared at each other stiffly, both being cautious.

"So I have something to tell you, Sam." Jacob said hesitantly.

"All right."

"Bella had her baby. It's a girl…Renesmee…" Jacob said, caressing her name in a way that made my mouth drop open.

"Holy Shit!" I yelled and my pack started running towards me. I spoke to them quickly "Stop, I'm okay, I'm going to be longer than I thought though guys…hang tight."

I walked slowly told Jacob, "Are you trying to tell me that you imprinted on Bella's daughter."

"Yeah, I did," Jacob responded and he showed me what had happened.

He had thought Bella was dead. He wanted revenge. He had snuck up on the blonde female vampire while she held the baby. He'd planned to rip the infant out of Blondie's hands and kill her. It was then that the baby with her bronze colored curls and chocolate brown eyes looked at him and his whole world changed.

"Well…" I said. I was so shocked that I phased back without meaning to as I lost hold of my anger. Jacob phased back as well. "Well, this...uh…this changes things. We obviously won't attack the Cullens. Renesmee is part of our family as much as she is part of the Cullens now. Wow though…"

"Yeah, she's great. She's so smart. But she's growing fast…too fast. She's only a day old, but she already looks like she's a month old. It's weird and we're concerned, but she's perfect." Jacob told me as he walked towards me. He was smiling like a new dad.

"So what do the Cullens think about this?" I asked.

"They've been great. Once Edward realized what happened, and that I didn't have any disgusting thoughts towards his daughter, he was cool with it. Course, he's not really thinking clearly right now, but the rest of Cullens are being supportive. They…uh…they were grateful for my help the past few days and the doc said I was welcome any time."

"And Bella?" I wondered.

"Bella…I guess that's something else I need to talk to you about," Jacob said looking off in the distance. "As heir to Ephraim Black and as an Alpha myself, I gave Edward the okay to change her."

"So Bella is a vampire now?" I was in such shock still over what Jacob had told me that it didn't even bother me to learn that Jacob had assumed authority. A small part of me also acknowledged that Bella had gotten what she wanted after all.

"Not yet," Jacob answered my question and he frowned. "She's changing right now. Edward's worried though that something is wrong because she's not moving. Most newborns scream their heads off while they're going through the transformation, but Bella's not making a peep. Carlisle said it was probably from all the morphine Edward had given her. He thinks she's transforming just fine."

"And Renesmee? Does she act like a vampire or human?"

"She can eat human food, but she doesn't like it. When she's a little older, they're going to teach her how to hunt animals."

"So they're killing humans for her?" I asked in shock and anger.

"No! Of course not. They're feeding her donated blood, but at the rate she's growing, she should be weaned off it in no time and will be hunting soon like the rest of them."

"Is she immortal then?"

"We don't know." Jacob responded somewhat despondently.

I realized that in my surprise, I was still naked and quickly untied my pants from my leg and pulled them on. After I finished dressing, I continued to stare at Jacob and he raised his chin in defense.

"Sorry Jake, it just…you kind of threw me a curve ball here. It's weird enough that you're spending all your time hanging out with the leeches. And now you're telling me that your soulmate is half vampire. It's just…kind of hard to take in."

"Yeah, I know…" Jacob said and a stupid smile crossed his face.

We stared at each other for another minute, before I said, "Listen, would you mind if I came back to the Cullen house with you and saw her for myself. That way I can have a first hand account of what the situation is, and I'll be able to show my pack that there is no threat.

Jacob nodded slowly and we walked the rest of the way in human form. We walked in uncomfortable silence, neither one of us completely relaxed with the other. We soon reached the property. I heard Seth and Leah growl somewhere in the woods, but Jacob called out to them to relax. The scent of vampire burned my nose painfully even before we reached the porch, but I followed Jacob into the house. The first person I saw was the doctor. He didn't seem the least bit surprised to see me.

"Sam, welcome," Dr. Cullen said, holding out his hand for me to shake. The other Cullens were in the living room, standing or sitting behind him, looking at me with varying degrees of curiosity and anger. I noticed that Edward was absent.

I grabbed the doc's hand and shook it quickly. It made me uneasy to be here and went against everything I stood for, but I was going to have to get used to it. As I had told Jacob, Renesmee was a part of our family now. Like Emily, Claire, Kim, and Rachel, the pack would fight to the death if anyone tried to harm her. She would be protected by us as long as we were around.

"Thank you for allowing me to come here," I responded. "Jacob explained to me that he imprinted on your grand-daughter. Please trust me when I say that my pack will no longer be a threat to her. We will keep to our original treaty, and I hope that we can co-exist as peacefully as we had before."

"You were trying to protect your tribe. The need to protect family is understandable." He said and I understood the underlining meaning. They would have protected their family if we had attacked. Smiling at me, the doctor continued, "We would like to continue to exist in harmony as well."

I smiled in return. It was big of him. Much more than I deserved. A few days ago I had considered murdering his family. And now here he was accepting me into his home.

"So what do you think of Jake here imprinting on Ness?" The doctor asked me and I heard the blond female vampire huff in the background.

"Ness?" I asked.

"Short for Renesmee," Jacob responded. The doctor chuckled before turning to me expectantly.

"Uh, it's a little strange," I answered his question honestly. Jacob rolled his eyes

"Yes, it's not like anything I've ever seen in my entire existence. But from what I understand, an imprint is the most powerful magic of your kind."

"Yes," I answered, smiling softly as I thought of Emily.

The doctor seeing the look on my face smiled back at me, "Then I feel fortunate that Ness will have someone there to always look after her and cherish her."

"Speaking of Ness, where is she?" Jacob said, though he looked up towards the stairs. He could probably sense her pull. Even if Emily and I were separated by an entire continent, I would be able to find her because of the connection that existed between us.

Dr. Cullen also looked up in the direction of the stairs as well before saying solemnly, "She's upstairs with Edward and Bella."

"Any changes?" Jacob asked and the doctor shook his head. Jacob's shoulders slumped as worry etched out across his face.

"Don't worry Jake. As I keep telling Edward, Bella's heart beat is strong, she'll be fine," the doctor said, reaching over to squeeze Jacob on the shoulder gently. He turned and walked over to the couch, putting his arm around the blonde vampire when she went to get up and follow us upstairs.

"Ignore Rosalie, she's just a pain in the ass," Jacob said, noticing my glance. I heard Rosalie hiss as we headed up to where Ness was.

The first thing I heard was Edward pacing back and forth and humming some melody softly. As we walked into the room he was in, the first thing to catch my eye was Bella Swan laying on a hospital gurney. She didn't move or twitch as we walked into the room. She already looked different to me.

She wasn't even half way through her transformation, but she had already started to develop the paleness of the vampires. While I never thought she was ugly before, I could see slight improvements in her features. She was going to be truly beautiful by the time she was through. Beauty was one of the first things to suck a vampire's victims in. The fact that she was now in focus again for me was another sign that she was becoming a vampire. The wolves could always see their enemies clearly.

Edward stopped pacing when he saw me. His daughter also looked over at me curiously. She was absolutely beautiful. She had her father's coloring right down to the pale skin, but her eyes were definitely her mothers. I over looked at Edward.

Edward looked like crap. He was even paler than normal. He had dark circles under his eyes. So dark, it looked like he had bruises under them. His eyes were pitch black and I felt slight heat shoot down my spine as I realized I was looking at one hungry vampire. But he was also a vampire that looked like he was under a great deal of strain. I actually felt slightly sorry for him. Not completely, but there was a little bit of pity as I took in his tortured features.

"I heard what you said downstairs to Carlisle, Sam. Thank you." Edward said.

I nodded sympathetically as I glanced at Bella. I looked back at Edward. Ness was reaching out to Jacob and Edward handed her over to him.

"What do you think of Jacob imprinting on your daughter?" I asked.

Edward chuckled tiredly before saying, "At first I was a little disturbed, but I saw that his intentions were innocent. He also showed me that his friend Quil imprinted on someone young as well."

"So you don't mind Jacob hanging around?" I questioned and wondered why I even cared. But as much as Jacob pissed me off, I still didn't like the idea of a fellow werewolf being in trouble.

"Jacob saved Bella's life on more than one occasion. He saved her from drowning when I wasn't around. He had an idea of how to get her the nutrients she needed while carrying Ness. If it weren't for Jake, Bella wouldn't be here. I will always be grateful to him for that, and he will always be welcome here."

"Jeez, I told you, the drinking blood thing wasn't my idea," Jacob muttered, his ears turning red. He had finally taken a break from staring at Ness. She kept touching his face strangely. I decided I didn't want to know what the drinking blood comment was about.

"And what do you think Bella will say?" I asked.

Edward laughed at that, "I don't know, but I can't wait to find out." Sadness washed over his face again as he went to stand by his wife. He picked up her hand, holding it gently.

"Edward, you want me to take Ness back downstairs?" Jacob asked. Edward nodded, never taking his eyes off Bella.

We walked back downstairs. Jacob turned to me and said, "Nessie wants to know if you'll hold her."

"What?" I asked.

"She inherited a gift. You know how Edward can read minds? Ness can tell you what she's thinking by touching your face. Would you mind?"

"Uh…okay." I responded wearily. This day was getting weirder and weirder.

"Don't bite Ness," Jacob said. I looked at him to see if he was joking and looked cautiously at the baby when I realized he wasn't. Seeing my face, Jacob laughed. "Don't worry, she's not venomous."

"Great," I muttered as Ness was transplanted into my hands. She reached out and touched my face. She showed me a picture of Jacob. It was incredible, but I knew what she was asking by the emotion I felt in the vision she showed me.

"Yes, we're fr..friends," I stuttered and Jacob snickered.

She then showed me a picture of her mom. She showed me Bella right after she gave birth and I flinched at how terrible Bella had looked. Ness proceeded to show me the Bella that we had just left upstairs. I looked down into her worried eyes. I couldn't believe this kid was only a day old.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," I assured the little baby. She smiled, showing me a full set of teeth. I heard a howl in the distance and knew it was my pack getting antsy.

"I'm going to go," I told Jacob as I handed Ness back to him. She waved at me before burying her head in his neck.

"Thanks for listening Sam." Jacob said and I nodded.

I had a feeling we would always have this weird uncomfortable feeling between us, but the urge to attack him was no longer there. I walked out the door and headed for the woods. I didn't get very far though as Leah walked towards me in human form. She looked like she could use a shower and her clothes were filthy.

"Hey Leah," I said cautiously, taking a step back from the angry glint in her eye.

"You ever tell anyone to call me Lee-lee again, and I will hunt you down like the dog you are. You got me, bunny buns!" Leah whispered angrily, her hands shaking. I tried very hard not to laugh because then I knew Leah would attack. I didn't want to deal with that on Cullen property.

"I'm sorry Leah, it just slipped out. I was worried about you, that's all."

"I'm not your problem anymore," Leah said and I could tell she was very proud about that fact.

"You weren't a problem, Leah. I wish you would believe me when I tell you that I just want you to be safe and happy."

"Whatever. Just don't share every detail of our relationship with everyone, okay?" She asked. Considering that she had shared almost every intimate detail of our sex life with the pack, I thought her request was a little hypocritical, but I let it go. I agreed to her request and headed deeper into the forest.

As soon as I phased, I felt the entire pack waiting for me. I ran to the reservation and met them where they waited. As soon as I reached them, I showed them everything I witnessed. I showed them the most important fact, which was that Jacob had imprinted on a half vampire.

"Dude, that's just fucked up," Jared said.

"Seriously, what the hell?" Paul added in disgust.

I saw Quil and Embry exchange worried glances.

"So what does it mean?" Collin asked.

"It means I'm giving everyone the rest of the afternoon off. Go home and catch up on your sleep." I said before adding, "Renesmee, no matter what her parentage, will always be considered our family now. If anyone hurts her, it hurts all of us."

I showed them again how strong my bond was with Emily. I felt Quil, Paul, and Jared also remember their bonds to their imprints. The pack slowly relaxed.

"Leave it to Jacob. He always has to be the rebel." Paul chuckled.

The pack went our separate ways and I headed for home. I felt optimistic for the first time in days. There was now peace between us and the Cullens and peace between my pack and Jacob's. In January, I'd be marrying my Emily. Everything finally seemed to be falling into place.

_**A/N – Please Review**_


	33. Development

**Chapter 33 – Development**

Sam's POV

I couldn't believe that in a few weeks Emily and I would be married and she would be mine in every way. In the past three months since Jacob had left the pack and Ness had been born, a peace had settled over the reservation. Jacob came and went as he pleased and Emily and I had even gone to visit Bella and Ness once.

It didn't mean though that things were entirely comfortable between Jacob and me, but at least we could speak to each other cordially. He was planning a trip with the Cullens to South America soon to see if they could find someone who might help explain Nessie's unusual growth spurts. His pack was going to report to me in his absence.

I smiled as I thought of when Emily had met Nessie. Emily had wanted to give Ness a present. It had been a little teddy bear which Nessie proceeded to attack. Jacob had joked that it was "future training." It was kind of funny, in a demented sort of way.

For a half vampire though, Ness was kind of lovable. She managed to win part of my heart over when she looked at Emily's scarred face, and said "pretty." I had to admit she was amazing. She was going on three months now and looked like she was a small two-years-old.

A lot had changed though in the past few months. Quil and Embry approached me one day and asked for my permission to join Jake's pack. I admired them for talking to me first. I knew that their longing to be reunited with Jacob was painful to them. Pain to them, meant pain and distraction to the rest of the pack, and I let them go with my blessing. The packs now stood even in members. I had Jared, Paul, Collin, and Brady in my pack. Jacob had Seth, Leah, Quil, and Embry.

What I found interesting though was now that the pack had split, and the other pack's first priority was no longer the reservation, some of the kids on the reservation had suddenly started to shoot up. It was like the magic in our blood realized that the pack was no longer whole, so it was trying to create replacements by doubling the amount we had before.

I noticed changes in seven of the male kids running around the rez. They were all young; the youngest was 11, the oldest 13. But I hoped that they wouldn't change too soon. As long as we didn't get a large influx of vampires in the area, they would get to enjoy their youth some more.

Another strange development was the fact that Sue Clearwater seemed to be spending a lot of time with Charlie Swan recently. It was basically because of Jacob Black. Jacob had admitted to Billy that he had phased in front of Charlie. Charlie had been worried about Bella to the point where the Cullens were considering moving out of the area.

Jacob had decided that if he phased in front of Charlie, and Charlie could handle it, he'd be able to accept the weird changes in Bella. If Charlie was able to handle the situation, then Bella got to keep Charlie in her life and Jacob got to keep Ness. Luckily for all concerned, Charlie did accept everything and basically said he didn't want to know any details.

Sue took it upon herself to help Charlie adjust to the new world he had been exposed too. She was cooking dinners for him and traveling to the Cullen house with him whenever he visited Bella. It seemed obvious to all that a romance was developing out of the situation. It was weird though…the vampire's father was hooking up with the werewolves' mother.

While Emily had been overjoyed by recent events in her life, mainly the upcoming wedding and the fact that her sister-in-law had given birth to a healthy baby boy in October, she had a hard time accepting Charlie in Sue's life. After all it had only been nine months since Harry died. And I knew that if Emily was troubled by this development, Leah and Seth were definitely struggling.

Now that the tension between the packs had eased, Leah came to the reservation every so often. She and Emily went for a fitting for their dresses the other week and Leah had been quite vocal about the fact that she wished Charlie Swan would fall off a cliff. She had also revealed that she was second in Jacob's pack.

But other then those unusual developments, things in life were running smoothly. So it came as a bit of a surprise one evening when I ran into two people I didn't expect while out patrolling. It had been shortly after midnight. The smell had hit me first just before they approached.

"Sam?" Alice Cullen called out. I could tell that it was her and her mate Jasper. What were they doing this close to the border? I walked towards them with Jared and Paul flanking my sides.

"Sam, would it be all right if I talked to you face to face?" Alice questioned.

"I'm going to talk to them for a minute, guys." I told Jared and Paul. "Keep an eye on Jasper."

I went behind a tree and phased. I quickly pulled on my pants and went to face Alice and Japer.

"Sam, we need to cross the border to get to the ocean. Something extremely important has come up and everyone's lives depend on it." Alice pleaded.

"What is it?" I asked, crossing my hands over my chest.

"I can't go into details, but trust me when I say we are going to need your pack's help. Renesmee may be in danger."

"Then why can't you tell me?" I questioned. The idea of Ness being hurt was unacceptable to me.

"It's not up to me to say anything. They're going to need the pack's help on this one though."

"Of course, we will do whatever is needed to protect Nessie."

"So would it be all right if we crossed?"

I eyed her suspiciously for a moment. On one hand, I didn't have a problem with Alice, but I didn't feel entirely comfortable having Jasper on our land. It also bothered me that she wasn't telling me all the details. On the other hand, I did try to attack her family a few months ago and that still made me feel guilty, especially when I thought about the fact that we would have killed Nessie.

"Fine. Follow me, but stay close. If you try to run, we will be forced to attack," I warned. Alice and Jasper nodded. As we walked, Alice handed me a note.

"They will follow our trail. Please wait for them at the border where you met us and give them that note. It is extremely important Sam. And don't tell Jacob that you ran into us tonight until you give the others that note. Please Sam, do everything I've asked and obey it as though your life depended on it." Alice instructed.

We had just reached the beach and Jasper and Alice ran to it, disappearing into the dark waters before I had a chance to question her further. I looked around to make sure that no one else was around and tucked Alice's note in my short's pocket. I took off the shorts and tied them to my leg before quickly phasing.

"So what the hell was that about?" Paul asked.

"I don't know, but I'll track down Jacob in the morning and get full details. Alice must have seen something pretty important to have asked us for help." I responded slowly, but I still felt uneasy with the situation. However, if there was one thing I had learned about Alice, it was that she was rarely, if ever, wrong. I had to trust that I made the right decision.

Shortly after Alice and Jasper had left, Jacob contacted me through our Alpha thoughts. He told me that the Volturi were on their way, the entire clan, and things didn't look so good.

"They're coming for Ness. They think she is an immortal child which is a taboo to have in the vampire world. Will your pack help?" Jacob asked.

"Of course we will. Do you even need to ask?" I bristled.

"Thank you Sam," I could here the relief in his voice before he continued. "As soon as I know any more details, I'll let you know."

"Okay Jacob," I responded and hesitated, before deciding to not tell him about Alice as she instructed.

We went back and waited for the Cullens in the spot where Alice said they would meet us. I howled and felt Collin and Brady join us mentally though they were still near the reservation. I told everyone what Jacob had told me.

"So we're going to fight?" Brady asked anxiously.

"I don't know what's going to happen, but I'll let everyone know as soon as I get more information." I told them.

It was early morning when I heard the Cullens approaching. I quickly phased and pulled Alice's note out of my pocket.

"Sam?" I heard Edward call out. "What is it?"

I approached slowly and cautiously. There were three of us and six of them. I thought about Alice and Jasper leaving in the middle of the night. Edward's pale face became even whiter. I ignored his pained expression and told them what I knew and gave them the note. Carlisle took it and read it closely.

"Alice has decided to leave us," Carlisle said in a pained voice.

"What?" Rosalie asked. He turned the note around so that we could all see it. I read it with the rest of them and felt a swift kick of betrayal course through me.

_Don't look for us. There isn't time to waste. Remember: Tanya, Siobhan, Anun, Alistair, all the nomads you can find. We'll seek out Peter and Charlotte on our way. We're so sorry that we have to leave you this way, with no goodbyes or explanations. It's the only way for us. We love you._

What could make the situation so bad that Alice and Jasper would betray their coven? I knew that Edward had warned us of the Volturi before, but was the situation that dangerous?

"Yes, things are that dangerous." Edward answered my thought.

"Enough that you would abandon your family?" I asked, anger building. I felt like I had been duped. I cursed myself for trusting a vampire. I thought of innocent Nessie and my hands trembled slightly. Alice and her mate were a bunch of unfeeling cowards.

"We don't know what she saw," Edward said stiffly. "Alice is neither unfeeling or a coward. She just has more information than we do."

"We are not--" I started to say, but Edward interrupted.

"You are bound differently than we are," Edward said and I could detect the anger in his voice. "_We_ each still have our free will."

I felt my head jerk up at that insult. I wondered briefly what would happen if I attacked him. The arrogant swine! I hadn't ordered anyone since the pack split up.

"But you should heed the warning," Edward continued in a calmer voice. "This is not something you want to involve yourselves in. You can still avoid what Alice saw."

"_We_ don't run away," I responded and Paul snickered behind me. I watched with satisfaction as Edward stiffened from the returned insult.

"Don't get your family slaughtered for pride," Carlisle said softly.

I looked at his tired expression and felt my anger drain out from me. I really did have a lot of respect for the doc.

"As Edward pointed out," I told him, "we don't have the same kind of freedom that you have. Renesmee is as much a part of our family now as she is yours. Jacob cannot abandon her, and we cannot abandon him."

I looked at the note again and felt the guilt and anger burning down my spine. How could she do this to Ness. How selfish could someone be?

"You don't know her," Edward said defensively.

"Do you?" I injected. I wondered for a moment if Edward was considering attacking me. Jared and Paul must have wondered as well, because I felt them shift restlessly behind me. Carlisle interceded and put his hand on Edward's shoulder.

"We have much to do, son. Whatever Alice's decision, we would be foolish not to follow her advice now. Let's go home and get to work." Carlisle said before turning to me. "Thank you, Sam."

"I'm sorry. We shouldn't have let her through." I replied, guilt overwhelming me.

"You did the right thing," Carlisle responded. "Alice is free to do what she will. I wouldn't deny her that liberty.

"I'm not going down without a fight," Emmett growled. "Alice told us what to do. Let's get it done."

The others nodded and headed back towards their property. Jared, Paul, and I headed back to the reservation to update Collin and Brady. When the group was together, we started reviewing exercises of attack. While in the middle of practice, I heard Jacob call out to me. I turned away from the group and listened to what he had to say.

"Listen, the Cullens are looking for their friends across the globe. They want to gather witnesses. They're hoping that if enough vampires state on the record that Nessie is growing, they'll be able to convince the Volturi to not attack. There will probably be quite a few vampires in the area so if you see some wandering in the woods, don't attack."

Jacob was pissed at me, I could tell. He was angry that I let Alice through and didn't tell him. But I was livid at the idea of letting vampires have free reign over the area.

"How do we know enemy from friends?" I asked.

"Bella and Edward will tell everyone to stay away from La Push, and they will be asked to hunt away from this area."

"So these friends hunt humans," I inquired in disgust.

"Yes," Jacob snarled. At this point his only goal was to protect Ness. Would I be as accepting of the situation if it were Emily that was threatened, and I knew the answer was yes.

"So when is this attack going to take place? Do they know yet?" I asked.

"The first snow that sticks on the ground."

"But that could be anytime. It could be tomorrow. It could be Christmas. It could be…" And I froze as I thought of when exactly it could be. It could be January 6. _My wedding day!_

Jacob who didn't hear what I had just realized, spoke, "I'm sorry, but that's all we know. In the meantime, I'm reassigning my pack over to you immediately. Try to get them prepared as best as you can."

"No problem," I answered and I felt Jacob break our Alpha connection. I felt sick at heart for what I was going to have to do. I looked at the pack, "Guys, let's take a break and meet tomorrow morning at daybreak."

The News had predicted seasonally warm temperatures tomorrow. I knew there was little chance that we would get attacked tomorrow. The group agreed to meet first thing in the morning and we went our separate ways.

I headed to Emily's house and entered through the backyard entrance. I saw Emily looking at a bridal magazine. My heart sank at the idea of causing her the pain I knew was coming.

"Emily," I said to get her attention. She looked up and smiled at me as she got up from her chair and put her arms around me. She leaned against me and I kissed the top of her head.

"Don't forget you have an appointment to try on tuxes in an hour. Is Seth going to try on his tux too?" Emily asked. Seth had planned on being my best man.

"We need to talk," I said, breaking away.

"Okay," Emily responded. Something must have shown on my face because she stiffened. I drew her gently over to the couch and sat us both down, continuing to hold her hand.

"You know I love you, right?"

"Sam, you're starting to scare me."

"Em, something's come up…something major and…" I hesitated.

"And what," Emily asked panicked.

"And I think we should postpone the wedding."

"Why?" Emily asked in shock.

"There's a threat to the area. We're going to be attacked again, but I don't know the exact date."

"Well if you don't know the exact date, then why can't we just wait and see?"

"Because it could be the day of the wedding. Also, I'm going to be too busy training for what's coming up. Seth and Leah aren't going to be able to participate in wedding plans either. I also suspect that we're going to have some new wolves soon, so I'll need to be available to help them."

Emily looked at me for a moment, before looking down at her hand that I still held. In a voice that broke my heart she asked, "Do you want to marry me, Sam?"

I let go of her hand and clasped her face with both of my hands. "Never doubt it for a second. I want to marry you more than anything in the whole world. But I need to make sure this threat is out of the way first."

"Maybe you should tell me some details." Emily requested and I told her everything.

"So they're after Ness?"

"Yeah, they are," I answered.

Emily nodded slowly and just stared blankly at the wall.

"Talk to me, Em?" I was worried by the vacant expression in her eyes.

"I just wish…"

"Wish what?"

She looked at me then. I felt tears sting my eyes at the pain in her face. "I just wish you would choose me over responsibility. Just once."

I was taken aback by this. Every choice I ever made was for her. "Em, my number one priority is to make sure you're safe. I am choosing you."

She nodded wearily and got up from the couch. She went over to the chair where her bridal magazine was and threw it on the floor before she reached for the spiral notebook that was underneath it. She pulled out a page and ripped it in half before handing one half to me.

"Here's a list of people we're going to need to call to cancel everything."

"Postpone the wedding," I responded sadly.

"Till when?" Emily asked bitterly.

I knew I didn't have an answer for her. I pulled out my cell phone to make the calls. Emily went to use the phone in the kitchen and began calling people herself. It took a couple of hours but we were able to get everything cancelled. My mother and Emily's mother were taking care of contacting family members. As her family believed I was some sort of guard on the reservation, we told them there was a "security issue that was a need to know situation."

I finished my last call and hung up the phone, throwing it to my side on the couch. I buried my face in my hands. Would Emily ever be able to forgive me for this? I felt her hand on the back of mine and I looked up to see her sad eyes looking down at me.

She grabbed my hand and pulled. I got up willingly. I noticed that she was holding a blanket in her hand and that she had changed into sweats. I followed her outside and she pulled me in the direction of the lounge chair. I sprawled out on top of it and she followed me down, lying on her stomach so that her head rested on my chest. I reached over and pulled the blanket over her and wrapped my arms around her firmly.

"Promise me you'll be safe," Emily whispered.

I pulled her up until her mouth was in reach of mine. I kissed her softly, parting her mouth with my tongue before dipping it into her sweetness. Her tongue met mine sensually and I felt myself groan in response.

As far as a distraction went, it worked great. Because if there was one thing I knew I couldn't do, it was to promise Emily that I would be safe this time.

_**A/N – Please Review**_


	34. Fear

**Chapter 34 – Fear**

Sam's POV

So here it was. New Year's Eve and I was spending the morning in a field surrounded by God only knew how many vampires. The stench was enough to permanently damage my sense of smell. Jacob had joined us early in the morning and we confirmed our strategy. When Jacob gave the sign, we had planned to come out of the forest and reveal ourselves to the Volturi. The hope had been that the element of surprise would stop the Volturi in their tracks.

And the idea worked. When the Volturi came to the clearing that we were in, Jacob asked us to step forward. Both my pack and his stepped out of the woods and stood side by side with the Cullens and their allies. Thanks to recent changes on the reservation, we now stood at 16 werewolves, 17 including Jacob. It had halted the Volturi's procession and now here we were playing a waiting game.

I looked at the three leaders of the Volturi with little interest while they stood in the middle of the field. Edward was talking to them now, holding one of the leader's hands. I was hoping they would attack for the simple reason that I needed something to vent my frustrations on. Thanks to them my wedding was ruined. Thanks to these stupid, worthless, pieces of shit, my Emily had walked around the house for the past few weeks like a zombie.

And that brought me up to my current problem. The reason I was standing here like vegetable. Her reaction was resurrecting my greatest fear.

What if Emily had finally had enough? What if she decided I wasn't worth the bother any more? Since meeting me, she had been injured leaving her with permanent scars, she had been alienated from her family, she had slaved away in the kitchen for a pack of unruly wolves time after time, she had been left to worry over and over again, and now her dream wedding was in shambles.

Why the hell would she choose this life, when she could be offered something so much better with someone else? The idea of Emily being with anyone but me was enough to make me want to run across the field and attack every single vampire in sight. I imagined someone else seeing her special smile that she reserved just for me. It was enough to make me want to yell. The pain from that thought was unbearable, and I was glad that I had found a way to block my thoughts from the rest of the pack.

I thought of Emily again with longing. While I knew that I wouldn't be able to live without Emily in my life, and that I would love her until I took my last dying breath, I feared that Emily had finally reached the point where she would say "no thanks jerk off" and would leave. It wasn't like I didn't deserve it.

After we had made love on the lounge chair the day I told her we needed to postpone the wedding, she had said, "You know what kills me Sam. I didn't need the big wedding or any of the fancy stuff that went with it…that was my mom and Stacy. I just wanted to be your wife so bad."

I had wanted to throw her in the car right then and there and take her to Vegas. But my number one priority was making sure she was safe. I had to focus on training the wolves for this battle. Because if we failed against the Volturi, I had no doubt that they follow our scent back to La Push and wipe out our families.

"Shouldn't we attack?" one of the new wolves asked in a nervous voice, interrupting my memories.

Seven! I couldn't believe seven more kids had changed into wolves over the past few weeks. It was solely because the Cullens had sent every vampire they had ever met to the little town of Forks. The new wolves hadn't even stood a chance and had changed within a couple of weeks of each other. Luckily, Jacob's pack worked with me and we had been able to get some great practice sessions done. It helped that we couldn't read their thoughts. We could practice attacking each other without knowing what our "opponent" was thinking.

"We don't attack until the Cullens give us the sign, Ryan." I answered his question.

"I'm Rafe," Rafe grumbled.

"I'm Ryan," said a little brown wolf at the very end.

In the current mood I was in, a part of me wanted to say, "Who cares?" Ryan was our youngest at barely 11. If he didn't crap himself by the end of this meeting, I would grow horns. I sighed as I thought about the fact that I probably deserved horns. I was in a crappy mood and had been since I broke off the wedding, but that didn't mean I needed to take it out on innocent, scared kids. But I was terrified myself, though for a different reason...oh God, what would I do without her?

No focus...I tried to say the new wolves' names repeatedly just to keep my mind off Emily. I hated having the new werewolves here. They were too young, but they would be hunted down anyway now that we had exposed ourselves, so I wanted them here where the older wolves could try to keep an eye on them. But they were way too young...oh God, young…Emily Young…No…think of newbies' names…

Rafe, Will, Macaide...well Mac, Ryan, Azra, Ethan, Tristen...

Rafe, Will, Mac, Ryan, Azra, Ethan, Tristen...

Oh God, please let her forgive me...

I thought back to a particular conversation we had a couple of weeks ago.

"Emily, talk to me please?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"I want to know that you forgive me...that you understand?"

She sighed.

"There's nothing to forgive Sam. I understand."

But the way she said it, with no expression, no feeling at all, made every doubt and fear I had ever felt in our relationship rise up over me like a tsunami wave. I kept waiting for the wave to crash into me and then I would be left with nothing.

If she left me, I would _be _nothing, an empty shell, but I wouldn't beg her to come back if that was what she really wanted. I could never do anything against my imprint's wishes, if freedom from me was what she truly desired. Even if it meant that it would rip my heart out.

If Emily had insisted on the wedding, I would have damned caution and married her anyway. No matter what the risk to our families being in the area. No matter how much I was needed here. Not that I was proving much use. I couldn't concentrate dammit!

The pack grew restless as I saw Jacob, Bella, Nessie, and Emmett head towards the middle of the field where Edward was waiting. The Volturi leader with the long black hair, who seemed to be the spokesperson of the group, let Ness touch his face.

The group of vampires began to exchange words but I hardly paid attention. I knew the rest of the pack could hear them with their extra sensory hearing, so I started to zone out again. The pain of hurting Emily was too distracting. My ears did perk up though when I saw the leader look at Jacob thoughtfully.

"It doesn't work that way," Edward responded to some unheard thought.

"Just an errant thought," the leader said, still looking at Jacob.

"They don't _belong_ to us, Aro. They don't follow our commands that way. They're here because they want to be." Edward explained. I heard Jacob growl. He didn't know what the exchange was about and it was pissing him off.

"They seem quite attached to you, though," the leader said. "And your young mate and your…family. _Loyal_."

"They're committed to protecting human life, Aro. That makes them able to coexist with us, but hardly with you. Unless you're rethinking your lifestyle."

The leader, Aro, laughed foolishly and said again, "Just an errant thought. You well know how that is. We none of us can entirely control our subconscious desires."

"I do know how that is. And I also know the difference between that kind of thought and the kind with a purpose behind it. It could never work, Aro."

Jacob had had enough and asked Edward silently. "What the hell is he talking about?"

"He's intrigued with the idea of…guard dogs," Edward replied.

Snarls broke out between both packs.

"Who the fuck does this tool think he is?" Paul asked angrily.

"Let's kill him…kill all of them," Brady said angrily. Jacob's pack was also yelling but I didn't understand them.

"Everyone shut-up!" I yelled. I heard an instant hush from both packs. I must have made myself more than clear to both groups. I hadn't even used the Alpha command against my pack.

"I suppose that answers that question," Aro laughed. "_This_ lot has picked its side."

All of a sudden, Edward hissed and leaned into a crouch. Bella grabbed his hand and the pack tensed. Was this it?

"So much to discuss," Aro said. "So much to decide. If you and your furry protector will excuse me, my dear Cullens, I must confer with my brothers."

"Don't you think you're being a little harsh, Sam?" Jared asked as we stood waiting for the Volturi to make their next move. Evidently, Jared was irritated with the tone in my voice when I told the group to shut it. "These kids are scared."

"We're not scared," Mac protested. The emotion he was sending our way was another case entirely.

"See?" Jared snickered. I took a deep breath to control my temper. Jared was right. I didn't need to be acting like a prick just because my own life sucked.

I tried to focus again, but immediately lost concentration. I felt on the verge of snapping. The only time I had taken a break over the last few weeks had been at Christmas. Emily and I had spent the holidays with Bella, Edward, Ness, Sue, Billy, Jacob, and Jacob's pack. It had been quite the experience. Jacob and I still felt uncomfortable around each other and Emily had barely spoken. She hid her pain well. She even let Nessie at three-months-old, read her a story, but I could tell she hadn't been in the Christmas spirit. The only thing that had helped cheer up the atmosphere was that all the other werewolves were psyched about the upcoming battle.

I listened half heartedly to the conversation between the leaders of the Volturi. Apparently they had decided that Nessie wasn't one of their "immortal children" and now they were debating whether or not we were "children of the moon" and whether our presence was a punishable offense. Stupid fucks.

I went back to thinking about Emily from last night. She had slept fitfully all night. I had stayed up most of the night just watching her.

"…Because the werewolves killed my friend. And the Cullens wouldn't stand aside to let me avenge him." I heard someone say and I snapped my attention back to the scene on the field. One of the other leaders was interrogating a female vampire with long silvery blonde hair.

So, some vampires wanted revenge against the tribe and the Cullens wouldn't allow it? Great, now I felt even guiltier for considering killing them a few months ago. My life was just getting better and better.

"The shape-shifters." I heard the one called Aro say.

"So the Cullens sided with the shape-shifters against our own kind—against the friend of a friend, even," one of the other Volturi leaders said. Jeez, this guy really was a pain in the ass.

"That's how I saw it." The woman vampire said.

"If you'd like to make a formal complaint against the shape-shifters—and the Cullens for supporting their actions—now would be the time." The "pain in the ass" sneered.

"No, I have no complaint against the wolves, or the Cullens…" She continued to speak but my eyes focused on the "pain in the ass." There was something in his body language that made me want to jump out and protect the silvery haired vampire. Sure enough as soon as she got done speaking, he raised his hand and some of his guard came out and ripped the woman apart before setting her on fire. It was over in a matter of seconds.

I looked over and saw two of the Cullens friends try to break from the formation. The doctor grabbed the vampire with strawberry blonde hair. The other female must have had a power because two Cullens tried to grab her and they jerked away like they had been shocked. Another man grabbed her and they both fell to the ground, but he didn't let go.

I looked back at the leaders of the Volturi. They seemed surprised.

"What happened? Why'd they do that?" Azra, one of the new wolves, asked.

"I'm sure they expected a retaliation. Doesn't look like they're going to get it." I responded.

"Looks like they lost some credibility among their peers too," Jared said and I looked over at the witnesses they had brought with them. The looks on most of their faces was shock, anger, and confusion.

The Volturi leader Aro began to interview the Cullens' witnesses. It seemed at this point that the Volturi were looking for any reason to attack the Cullens. Seriously, what a bunch of douches. My respect for the vampire world, which was already low anyway, slid a few more notches down. Who put these morons in charge?

Some members of the pack snickered at that, and I realized that I was no longer in my private Alpha "thought" zone.

"All right, all right. Keep focused." I grumbled. I started thinking about more pleasant things, like the way Emily's hair shined in the sunlight.

"Sam!" Jacob interrupted my thoughts. "Sam, Bella wants me to leave with Nessie. I've got to get her out of here Sam. I'm leaving as soon as Bella gives me the word."

"Do it," I didn't even hesitate. I would do the same thing to keep my imprint safe. Wasn't that why I was here in the first place?

"Watch out for my pack, Sam," Jacob pleaded.

"I will," I assured him and turned my thoughts back to Emily.

I just hoped I would live to see my imprint again. What was Emily doing right now? Was she still sleeping? Would I make it out of this alive? I knew she was worried. She was going to wait with her Aunt Sue again for the outcome, but she kept her fears to herself. She had really supported me this time, even though it meant canceling the wedding. Oh God, Em…

Suddenly Alice Cullen was there with her mate and three other people. I could tell that the young male that was with them was a half-breed like Nessie. He had the strange mixed scent of human and vampire about him. Their arrival triggered another long discussion with the Volturi. Both packs were restless.

I could hear Paul and Jared discussing with Collin and Brady which vampires they'd like to attack first. Will, Mac, Azra, Tristen, Rafe, and Ethan were reviewing strategies that they had learned in practice. Ryan was about to throw up.

I went back to thinking about Emily. What could I do to make up for the wedding? Would it even be possible? I was so busy in my contemplation that it took me a minute to realize that the witnesses that had come with the Volturi had dispersed, and that the Volturi themselves had turned and were leaving the area.

It was quiet for a moment before I heard Alice say, "Seriously people. They're not coming back. Everybody can relax now."

One of the creepier allies of the Cullens said, "Of all the rotten luck." And then everyone broke out into cheers.

I blinked out of my daze. What it was over? What the hell did I miss?

"Dude, that totally sucks," Jared said, obviously disappointed that we wouldn't be fighting. Most of the other wolves agreed with that sediment, but I saw Ryan go behind a tree where he promptly threw up.

I stood perfectly still. I had cancelled my wedding for no reason after all. Dammit to hell! If I lost Emily over this, I would hunt down every vampire in the world and rip their heads off!

Wait…Emily said she didn't want a big wedding. She had said that she just wanted to be married to me. I felt a smile cross my face as I made my way over to Alice Cullen.

_A/N** –** __Well, I am officially done with the books now. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story. I'm switching over to Emily's POV one more time for this next chapter. __**Please Review!**_


	35. Vows

**Chapter 35 – Vows**

Emily's POV

I opened my eyes slowly as I listened to the rain beat gently against the window. It was a miserable day, which was fine. It matched my mood perfectly. Today was supposed to have been my wedding day.

I tried to think positive. It was supposed to be a mix of rain and snow all day today. Conditions wouldn't have been ideal anyway. But even that optimistic thought didn't cheer me up.

It broke my heart all over again when I thought about the fact that we had postponed our wedding. I had told Sam that I didn't need all the hoopla that my mom and sister-in-law had planned and it was true. I just wanted to be Mrs. Sam Uley. But I understood Sam had responsibilities and people's lives depended on him. Sam had to protect the tribe. If he felt that the recent Volturi threat had been serious enough that he had to cancel our wedding, then I knew it was important. His concentration needed to be elsewhere.

Besides there was no point in pouting about it. I did that when the Newborn War happened and I only made us both miserable. We were two halves of a whole. If one was in pain, then we both were. So I had tried to put on a brave face.

I had been so relieved when he had walked into Sue's house last week after the battle that never happened. The Volturi hadn't attacked. They had weaseled off back where they came from. It was a crushing blow to me to realize that we hadn't had to cancel the wedding after all.

Sam on the other hand had been extremely happy for the past week. I loved him with all my heart and soul, but there was times where I had wanted to hit him over the head with a frying pan, he had been so cheerful. Yesterday evening, he was even humming while he did the dishes!

He had been spending a lot of time away from home in the past week. I would have thought now that the threat of the Volturi was over, he would have been able to relax and spent more time with me. But no, he went along his merry way. He told me he was spending a lot of time at the Cullen property, just to make sure they were okay. Funny, I thought that was what Jacob's pack was created for.

I sighed as I rolled over to wrap myself around his warm body, but my hand connected with emptiness. Where would he have gone? I looked at the alarm clock and realized that it was almost 11 am. I looked back at his side of the bed and noticed a note attached to his pillow.

_Meet me on the cliffs at 12 pm. At the bonfire area. _

_Love you,_

_Sam_

I looked back at the bedroom window and heard the rain hit the window even harder. I grumbled as I got slowly out of bed, stretching as I stood up. I grabbed a sweatshirt and jeans and went into the bathroom to take a shower. I dried my hair with a hairdryer but didn't bother with make-up. I grabbed some cereal out of the kitchen and tried to relax.

What was Sam up to? Why would he want to meet on the cliffs in this weather? I hoped he wasn't planning on anything romantic like a picnic to make up for the wedding, cause there was no way I was going to sit outside when it was practically sleeting.

It was finally close enough to 12 pm that I grabbed my rain coat and winter boots and headed out towards the truck with my umbrella. Once I reached the bonfire area, I pulled into a spot and grabbed the umbrella off the passenger seat. I got out of the truck and walked through the trees and bushes until I got to the clearing where the bonfire pit was. I promptly stopped.

Instead of the pit and sitting logs that were normally in the area, everything had been cleared out and in its place was a large white tent. The floor of the tent was covered in some type of corkboard. All four sides of the tent were made of clear plastic and I could see candles in every corner. There was even a candle chandelier lit above everyone. White tulips and yellow daffodils covered most of the interior walls, but a part of the wall farthest from where I stood was left empty so that the ocean view was on full display. I also saw space heaters hidden discretely tucked in the corners. White chairs sat mostly empty as people were gathered in groups talking to each other.

I could see my family, Sam's mother, both packs, and even the Cullens huddled inside, though the Cullens and the werewolves were standing cautiously away from each other. I also saw Billy Black, my Aunt Sue, and Charlie Swan inside the tent.

I noticed Quil holding Claire who was looking curiously at Renesmee Cullen. Nessie was being held in Jacob's arms. I blinked in astonishment as I took Nessie in. She looked like she was almost five-years-old now. Paul and Jared's imprints, Rachel and Kim were there as well. I froze in surprise as I also saw Reverend Weber.

And then I saw my Sam approaching me in a black tux. It was fitted, like something you would see James Bond wear. He took my breath away. He had almost gone through the opening of the tent when Alice grabbed his arm and handed him an umbrella. His hands shook slightly at her contact, but he smiled and took the umbrella from her. He approached me and his smile widened.

"Sam, what is all this?" I asked in shock.

"The day the Volturi came, all I could think of was you. I didn't even realize that the Volturi were leaving because I couldn't stop picturing you in my mind," Sam said with a half smile. "I kept thinking about how I knew I wouldn't be able to live without you, Em. That I would love you until my last dying breath. I wanted to marry you from the first moment I laid eyes on you. I cheated you out of the grand wedding you had planned, but if you'll have me, we can still get married today."

I felt tears in my eyes as I looked back to the smiling faces in the tent, and then back to Sam, before I asked. "Do I have to get married in jeans?"

Sam laughed as he answered, "No, we have your wedding dress here. It's in the tent over there."

I looked over to where he pointed and saw for the first time another tent set up a short distance away from the main tent. It was in another bonfire area. A smile crept slowly over my face.

"Yes Sam, let's get married." Sam picked me up, swinging me around. I dropped my umbrella as Sam kissed me breathless.

"All right, that will have to wait. We have a bride to get ready." Alice Cullen said behind us. She and Rosalie had moved so that they were right next to us standing under a large umbrella.

Sam looked at me hesitantly then back to the two vampires. His hands shook slightly and his hold tightened on me. I could see Leah over Sam's shoulder, standing in the tent. She rolled her eyes before grabbing an umbrella out of a stand near the entrance and walking out to us. She went over to Sam and squeezed his arm.

"I'll go with them," Leah said, quickly letting go and stepping away from him.

I knew that Leah was still saddened over her break up with Sam, but as she had told me once while we were getting fitted for our dresses, she loved me and would always care for Sam. They had been through a lot together and she just wanted us to be happy. She had said it with a pained expression, but I knew a small part of her actually meant it. Leah had had a hard year and now she just wanted peace in her life.

"Sorry ladies," Sam said, grimacing at Rosalie and Alice. "Old habits die hard."

Alice smiled at us, while Rosalie stuck her nose in the air and glared at Sam. Leah wrapped her arm around my waist and shuffled me in the direction of the smaller tent. They had laid the path between the sites with corkboard as well. Rosalie and Alice entered the tent first and Leah and I followed.

"Ok, first thing is hair," Alice said. "Rose, grab the hot rollers and styling gel. We're probably going to have to use a lot for this weather. I don't know why Sam insisted on the cliffs for the wedding. So impractical."

I smiled at that. I knew why Sam wanted the cliffs. It was the place where he had first learned the truth about himself. Where he came to relax. It was where we had listened to the old legends together with the rest of the pack. This place was sacred to Sam.

I got undressed and changed into a robe. I sat down in the chair and listened to the generator humming outside. The inside of the tent was set up like a beauty salon including swivel chair and vanity. Rosalie started putting my hair in rollers as Alison eyed my face critically.

"I think I can use some concealer on your face to make the scars not look so red if you want," Alice offered, but I shook my head. The scars were a part of who I was. I wasn't ashamed of them anymore. Alice sighed before smiling softly. She picked up some eye shadow and went to work. A half hour later, she stepped back with a slight smile on her face.

"Well, given the time limit and working in these conditions, I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself. What do you think?" Alice asked.

I looked in the mirror and stared at my reflection. My hair fell over my shoulders in soft waves and curls. One side was pinned back and held in place with a flower. My eyes were highlighted with a light shimmering eyeshadow. My lips glistened from a shiny gloss. The scars stood out but my whole face seemed to glow.

"Thank you Alice, thanks Rosalie," I said simply. I couldn't think of a better way to express my feelings.

"You ready for this?" Leah asked holding out my dress. Leah, like me, had her hair pulled back on one side with a flower. She had a red strapless dress on that hugged her chest then flowed from her hips to her feet. She looked beautiful and I told her so.

Rolling her eyes she said, "Yeah, yeah…enough with the mushy crap. Let's get you m-married so we can go eat."

I hugged her fiercely then turned to put my dress on. It was the same style that Leah's dress was, but while her dress was sleeveless, my dress was long sleeved and an off white color. It was funny to think that Leah in her sleeveless dress would probably be warmer than me with my long sleeves.

When I was finally ready, we headed back to the main tent, Rosalie turning off the noisy generator as we went. I was thankful that they had thought to put corkboard over our path so that my dress wouldn't get muddy. Leah and I walked close together so that we could share an umbrella. My father waited proudly for me. Leah looked at me with tears in her eyes and pulled me in for another hug.

"Be happy," she whispered, before heading towards the front of the tent where Sam waited. I felt pain in my heart for the hurt she hadn't been able to completely hide. I hoped that some day Leah would find her true soulmate as well.

I turned and looked up at the front of the tent where Sam was waiting for me. He was looking at me with an awestruck look that made me feel cherished. Seth was standing by his side grinning widely. I walked up the aisle with my father while Azra, one of the younger wolves, played the _Wedding March_ on the cello. A few of the other wolves snickered and pointed in his direction, but he stared straight at the music sheet, glaring at it hatefully.

When I got close enough, Sam apparently got fed up with waiting and met me partly down the aisle which made people laugh out loud. Sam was practically beaming with pride and excitement as we turned and walked the rest of the way to where Reverend Weber was waiting for us. We never took our eyes off each other while we repeated the traditional vows. When Mr. Weber announced us to be "man and wife" Sam didn't even wait for him to say, "you may kiss the bride."

With a "whoop" noise, Sam picked me up off my feet and kissed me. It wasn't too long or too short or too inappropriate. It was perfect, just like everything else about this day. When he set me back on my feet it registered on me that the crowd was laughing and cheering for us. We made our way out of the tent. Sam grabbed an umbrella and we rushed to truck.

Sam had brought his set of keys with him. He ran and opened up my door first, making sure that my dress was out of the way before he shut the door. He ran to the driver's side and hopped behind the wheel. He started the car and we headed towards the tribal office. Next to that building was a large conference hall where the tribe held community meetings. As he pulled into the parking lot, I looked at him.

"How did you do all this?"

"Let's just say Jacob showed me a memory of a graduation party he attended a while ago. I knew that the person who did the party also did Bella Swan's wedding," Sam said, pointing with his head in the Cullens direction as they pulled into the parking lot. "I figured that if anyone could help me plan a wedding at the last minute it was Alice Cullen."

"I'm surprised you invited all of the Cullens."

"Well, I had only invited Alice, but Alice insisted that she would need Rosalie's help getting you ready since I wasn't giving her a lot of time. Their mates weren't thrilled with the idea of the two of them coming to La Push by themselves, so I said they could come just for today. I don't even think Rosalie would have come except Alice can be very persistent," Sam said with a frown at some remembered memory.

"And the others?" I asked, smiling.

"Jacob wanted Ness to come, but Bella and Edward didn't want to let her out of their sight so soon after the almost attack, so they ended up getting invited too. And as for the doc and his wife…don't tell anyone this because it would probably damage my reputation of having sound judgment, but I kind of like the doc."

I laughed and Sam looked at me with that dazed expression in his face again.

"You are so beautiful," he said, leaning in to kiss me on the scarred part of my jaw before making his way over to tenderly kiss my lips. We heard a knock on the window and we jumped apart. Alice Cullen was glaring at us.

"Don't you dare mess up her make-up Sam Uley. Come on, you're wasting time and we have to feed the wolves before they get restless."

Sam rolled his eyes, but he grabbed the umbrella and got out of the car. He raced over to my side and grabbed my hand. We ran for the entrance of the hall. The hall looked incredible inside. Flowers hung everywhere. Candles were on every table. Soft cords of white lights were wrapped around bushes that were specifically brought in for the occasion. Everyone soon arrived and we ate.

After the food was cleared away, I went to talk to my parents for a moment. When I looked over at Sam he was in an intense discussion with Collin and Brady. I felt nervous that something was wrong, but relaxed when I saw Sam laugh and shake his head. Moments later, I felt a warm arm around my waist.

"Would you care to dance, Mrs. Uley?" Sam whispered in my ear.

"I'd love nothing more," I whispered back to him. Sam looked over at Alice who acting as DJ for the reception. The song, _First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, _by Roberta Flack, started to play and I went dreamily into Sam's arms.

"So what were you and Collin and Brady discussing so seriously?" I asked Sam who kept staring at me like he had just won the lottery.

"Hmm…Oh_, _Collin was asking me about imprinting. He has a crush on this girl at school, but I told him it didn't sound like he imprinted," Sam explained.

"Oh, I see," I responded, feeling so safe in Sam's warm, strong arms.

We continued to dance. Others soon started dancing with us. I watched with amusement as Will, who had just turned 14 a few days ago, made his way over to Leah who was talking with Embry and Seth. I could tell that he had asked her to dance by the way his ears suddenly turned red. She looked at him for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and got up and walked out on the dance floor with him.

Sam followed my line of vision and chuckled softly, "You think he has a shot?"

"Considering he's 14 and she's 19, I'd say there is a 100% chance that nothing will happen there. Who knows what will happen when he turns 18 though."

"He started following her around like a puppy when Jacob's pack joined mine to help with practices." Sam said smiling.

"I hope she'll find happiness," I worried.

"She will…I have to believe that," Sam responded.

I rested my cheek against his chest as we continued to dance. I watched as my young nieces played with their new half vampire friend. I was so proud of Sam today. It must have been tough to let the Cullens and Jacob here.

"I'm glad you invited Jacob," I said, looking up at him.

"Well, it would have been rude not to with Rachel and Billy and his pack here." Sam said, grimacing. I reached up on my tiptoes and kissed his chin.

"Thank you for today, Sam. I couldn't have asked for a better wedding."

"You're welcome." Sam bent down to kiss my mouth again.

"All right you two, time to leave I think," Alice Cullen interrupted us again. Edward was standing next to her with laughter in his eyes. Whatever Sam was thinking made Edward chuckle out loud.

"Yeah she is, but she means well. Everything is ready for you," Edward said, holding out his hand which held some keys. Sam reached out and took the keys and stepped back quickly again. Edward seeing this reaction looked even more amused. "Everything should be aired out for you so you shouldn't have a problem with the smell."

"Thanks for everything and thank Dr. Cullen too." Sam said, looking at both Alice and Edward who both nodded in response.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. Edward and Alice got big grins on their faces before walking away. I looked at Sam and lifted an eyebrow.

His eyes burned as he leaned down and whispered sensually in my ear, "Honeymoon."

"Oh," I responded, feeling my face blush.

Sam laughed when he saw it. We soon said our goodbyes and headed out to the truck which now had a "Just Married" sign in the back window. Sam wouldn't tell me where we were going, so I sat back and waited eagerly for my next surprise.

_**A/N – Please Review!**_

_**I couldn't think of a more fitting song for Emily & Sam to dance their first dance too then the one in the story. Here are the lyrics:**_

**First Time Ever I Saw Your Face**

_The first time ever I saw your face; I thought the sun rose in your eyes; And the moon and stars were the gifts you gave; To the dark and the empty skies, my love; To the dark and the empty skies._

The first time ever I kissed your mouth; And felt your heart beat close to mine; Like the trembling heart of a captive bird; That was there at my command, my love; That was there at my command.

And the first time ever I lay with you; I felt your heart so close to mine; And I knew our joy would fill the earth; And last till the end of time my love; It would last till the end of time my love.

The first time ever I saw your face, your face, your face, your face.


	36. Honeymoon

_A/N – This is the honeymoon chapter and pure fun fluff. However, please be advised that this chapter contains mature content._

**Chapter 36 – Honeymoon**

Sam's POV

"Em, we're here." I looked down at Emily's sleeping form.

We had been driving for two days now. After leaving the wedding reception, we drove to Boise, Idaho. By the time we got there, it was 3 am and we were both so exhausted all we could do was fall asleep. Boise wasn't our final destination though.

Emily stirred on the seat. She had been sleeping with her head resting on a pillow next to my thigh. We had been driving for 14 hours since we woke this morning, but we were finally at our honeymoon location. Although it was almost midnight.

"Where are we?" Emily asked, looking at the cabin lit by the truck's headlights.

"You want to hear something ironic," I asked laughing. "The Cullens loaned us one of their hunting cabins. Its south of South Fork, Colorado off of Wolf Creek Pass."

Emily laughing, said, "They just can't stay away from wolves and cities with Fork names."

"Let me go inside and turn on the lights," I told her.

I left the keys running in the truck so that she would keep warm as I quickly stepped out of it and shut the door. I immediately sank knee deep in snow. I made my way quickly over to the cabin and unlocked the door. The slight scent of vampire loomed in the air, but it was livable. I actually think I became a little desensitized to the Cullens smell over the past week as I had worked so closely with Alice. I felt the warmth of the cabin as I walked in and looked though the darkness until I located the light switch and flipped it on.

The place was your typical rustic cabin with a stone fireplace and bear skin rug. I heard somewhere that Emmett had a thing for bears and wondered if he had killed that bear himself. Off from the living room, I could see the kitchen and a hall that led, to what I assumed was a bathroom. Also off from the living room was a staircase which led up to a loft. Looking up, I could see a bed had been set up in the loft space which overlooked the living room. It was perfect. I turned and went back outside to get Emily. I made my way out to the truck.

"Come on, let's get you inside," I said to Emily. She grabbed her winter coat from the backseat and put it on. Once her jacket was securely on, I picked her up off the seat and we headed back to the cabin. Emily shivered and leaned closer to me, burying her face in my neck. Her face was ice cold from the chilly air. I quickly hurried into the cabin and set Emily down.

"This is really nice Sam," Emily said looking around.

She turned and looked at me and we both stared at each other for an awkward, tense moment. It was funny, it wasn't like we didn't know each other intimately, but there was something new and special about what we were about to do now that we were married. As I stared at her, I could feel myself getting excited, but decided to get our bags first.

"I'm going to get the rest of the stuff out of the truck," I told her. "The kitchen should be fully stocked if you want anything."

I turned and went back to the truck to get our suitcases. As I took them out, I picked up a scent that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and I felt myself begin to tremble. I sniffed around and picked up the slight scent of a wolf pack. Not a werewolf pack, but an actual wolf pack. Great, that's all we needed, to be bothered by wild animals.

No wonder the Cullens liked to hunt in this area. The idea of them hunting wolves though made me shake slightly harder and it took all my concentration to calm myself down. I needed to take care of the situation before any animals came to the area. I made my way back to the cabin and brought in the suitcases.

"Hey Em," I called out and saw Emily come out from the direction of the hallway. "I'm going to go mark a few trees out there. Hopefully the scent will keep some of the animals in the area away."

"You're going to go urinate on some trees?" Emily asked, raising an eyebrow.

"If I brush up against a few trees in wolf form that should be enough." I responded dryly, stripping out of my clothes as I spoke.

Emily eyed me in a way that made me almost say "screw it." But before my own needs, I had to put Emily's safety first. I ran out into the snow, hardly registering the cold and quickly phased. I ran out about a mile from the cabin and circled the area and spent the next half hour marking trees. After I was done, I ran back into the cabin and looked around for Emily.

"Hey," I heard her call out and looked up. She was leaning over the railing of the loft, looking down at me. I could see that she had changed into a red lingerie gown that had spaghetti straps. The gown was low cut and left little to the imagination.

"You know how they say heat rises?" Emily asked before continuing. "Not true. It's awfully cold up here."

"Well, I should probably come up there and try to warm you up, huh?" I laughed.

"Mmm, what an _exciting_ idea," Emily smirked, glancing down at my body's reaction. I quickly ran for the stairs and took them two at a time. As soon as I got up to the loft, Emily leaned back on the bed with her head against the pillow.

"You know the best way to warm someone up is skin to skin contact," I told her.

"Is that so?" Emily said innocently before she got up on her knees.

I walked over to the bed and moved across it where Emily was waiting with a seductive smile on her face. I reached for the hem of her nightgown and slowly raised it over her head. My body hardened even more as inch by inch of Emily's body was revealed to me. Her breathing began to speed up as I stripped the rest of the gown off of her. We both fell onto the bed and officially began our honeymoon.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Sam?"

I opened one eye. Emily was sitting next to my thigh dressed in her bathrobe. I could tell it was early. Way too early. I groaned and rolled on my stomach, burying my face in the pillow. I heard Emily's soft laughter and felt her move. She straddled my back and began to massage my shoulders. I groaned again at the feeling of her sweet touch.

"Sam, you know what I want to do today?"

"Give me some recovery time first. You already ravished me twice last night," I laughed into the pillow and heard Emily giggle in return.

"Umm, that wasn't what I was thinking about and besides, I think that's up for debate of who ravished whom," Emily said, before leaning over my back to whisper in my ear, "But ravishing will definitely be on the agenda for later."

"All right, what do you want to do then?"

"I want go sledding."

"Are you serious?" I mumbled into the pillow.

"Yes, I haven't gone since I was a kid," Emily stated, before leaning down to press soft kisses along my shoulders and the back of my neck. She kissed my ear before saying, "please."

Ugh, what a cheater. Kisses and pleading would get her anything she wanted. Groaning again, I rolled over on my back, grabbing her hips as I rolled so that she wouldn't fall off. She adjusted by moving down to straddle my hips. Her robe parted and I stared at what was revealed.

"I seriously doubt there are any sleds here." I stated leaning up to kiss one of her exposed breasts.

"We can drive into South Fork, right?" Emily said even while throwing her neck back. Her breathing was becoming erratic as I made my way over to her other breast.

"I don't know…it's probably snowing again and I'm pretty comfortable. What's the incentive?" I asked.

"You want incentive?" Emily asked. "Does this work?" She reached down and guided me into her welcoming warmth. We didn't make it to South Fork until much later.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," I grumbled several hours later as we made our way to a hill that would be perfect for sledding. All of a sudden a snow ball hit me in the face.

"We can't spend the whole week in bed," Emily stated.

With a growl I lunged at her and we both tumbled to the ground, her landing softly on top of me. She had bought a silly winter hat while we were in South Fork. It was a knit stocking hat that had a fluffy ball on the end of it. As she laid over me the ball hit my face. I moved it back and brought her head towards mine.

"Want a bet?" I challenged. Lifting my head up, I sucked on her bottom lip gently and my warm hand found its way underneath the layers of her clothing and started to move up towards her bra. Snow hit me in the face again seconds later.

"Perv," Emily laughed as she jumped off me and grabbed her sled before laying on it and sliding down the hill. Her laughter echoed through the area and it made my heart jump with joy.

We sled for 45 minutes. We were about to call it a day, but Emily decided she wanted to go down the hill one more time before we headed back to the cabin. I watched with amusement as my wife…I loved saying that…_my wife_ slid down the hill one more time.

Suddenly, I watched in horror as she went off the path and hit a snow bank. She went airborne. With her legs flaring, Emily disappeared from my sight. The last image I saw was the little ball on her hat sticky straight up in the air as gravity pulled her back down to Earth. Seconds after she disappeared behind the bank, her sled continued down the hill without its passenger.

"EMILY," I yelled and hopped on my sled, turning it in the direction she was in. As soon as I got close to her, I jumped off the sled and ran to the place she vanished and found her motionless, face down in the snow. She had to be okay. I would know if anything bad happened to her. I didn't feel like my world had just collapsed, so she had to be all right.

"Em?" I said, moving cautiously down next to her. I ran my hands gently over her body. From what I could feel through her clothes, she didn't have any bones out of place. I heard what sounded like a snort, but I was still careful as I rolled her on her back.

To my amazement, Emily was laughing. She stared at me from a face covered in snow. Her hat was tilted drunkenly to the side. I brushed the snow away from her face with shaking hands.

"Are you okay? You didn't get hurt?" I asked, still worried.

"Only my pride and I might be feeling it in my tailbone tomorrow, but nothing is broken," Emily assured me. I kissed her lips which were icy cold. I cupped one side of her cheek with one hand while placing my cheek against her other. I soon felt her cheeks begin to warm up.

"Have you had enough of sledding?" I asked, pulling away from her.

"Yes," Emily laughed. I retrieved Emily's sled and started to walk back to her.

"Hey, did you look at the backyard of the cabin yet?" I questioned.

"Umm, all I've done since getting here is make love to you, gone shopping, and now sledding, so no," Emily said, smiling in a way that made me want to rip off our clothes right then and there.

"Edward told me that the previous owners had a Jacuzzi installed and the Cullens never bothered to take it out. After dinner, why don't we sit in the tub and you can soak your backside?" I told her, wrapping my arm around her waist as we started to head up the hill.

"That's sound's great," Emily responded, leaning into me. We were half way up the hill when I froze. I turned around quickly and looked into the direction of the woods that weren't too far from the bottom of the hill. Heat started shooting down my spine in warning. We were being hunted.

I looked at Emily. We wouldn't make it back to the cabin in time. There was no place to take her where she would be safe. I grabbed her around her waist and practically dragged her back to the snow bank.

"Sam, what is it? What's going on?" Emily asked panicked.

I placed her against the snow bank and put the sleds over her so that she was wedged between them and the snow. It was pretty useless protection, but there was no where safe I could get her. I didn't even bother to change out of my sweat suit before I phased and waited, looking in the direction of the threat.

Five wolves came slowly out of the woods, being led by a large blackish brown wolf. They had obviously picked up my scent and decided to invade my turf. I pulled my teeth back and growled ferociously.

"Sam, everything okay?" Jared popped in my head.

"Yeah, everything's fine," I responded angrily. Fury at this threat made me feel stronger than I had felt in a long time. I knew that if I failed, they would attack Emily next and that wasn't going to happen. Besides, I handled vampires before. These wolves weren't going to get past me.

The large Alpha male attacked first. I lunged and grabbed him by the back of the neck and threw him across the field where he hit a tree with a resounding crack. The rest of the pack jumped over me. I could feel different bites over my skin. I kicked one which flew across the field where the Alpha male was. I hip checked another into a nearby tree. I then kicked off the remaining two. They came after me again but I head butted one into the other one. The pack soon got up and ran off, whimpering with their tails between their legs. I let out a howl of warning and heard them rush away even faster. I phased back and made my way over to Emily.

"Em, you okay?" I asked removing Emily from her pathetic shelter.

"Oh Sam," Emily said, launching herself in my arms. "I was so scared you'd be hurt."

Emily pulled back and looked at me with tears in her eyes. I leaned down and kissed her parted lips then ran my thumbs across her cheeks to wipe away the tears.

"That was a piece of cake. No problem, seriously Em," I assured her. She checked me over before her eyes narrowed as she looked down at my arm.

"You're bleeding," she told me as she put some cold snow on one of the larger cuts. My body temperature instantly melted it. Streaks of watery blood ran down my arm, but the actual cut had already healed up and was nothing but a faint line.

"So how about a shower and then we hit that Jacuzzi." Emily said, looking down at my naked form.

"Sounds good," I said, wrapping my one arm around her waist and holding the sleds with the other arm.

"I've never seen you in wolf mode like that before," Emily said in an awestruck voice.

"You weren't scared, were you?" I asked, instantly worried.

"No…I was very impressed actually." Emily assured me, moving in to kiss me in the middle of my chest.

We walked back to the cabin, me without clothes on since mine were lying in shreds all over the hill. We laughed all the way back. We ended up trying out the Jacuzzi that night.

We also tried out the bear skin rug in front of the fireplace a couple of days later, though we only stayed there a short time because Emily got too hot between the heat from the fire and the heat from my body. Luckily, I'd had a tent set up in the backyard and we spent the night in there. I had gotten the idea from the time Jacob Black spent a night in cold conditions with Bella Swan in a sleeping bag. We had a lot of fun that night. Before we knew it, the week was over and we were headed back to La Push.

A month after our honeymoon, I hurried into the house after a long day of work. I couldn't wait to see my wife. We were still in the honeymoon phase of our marriage, and I missed her so much during the day that it was painful.

The first sight to greet me when I entered the house was Emily leaning against the counter, holding some type of plastic stick in her hand. She looked at me with a big smile on her face.

"So I have some news…"

_A/N – So I know some of you thought he was taking her to Isle Esme, but if Sam took Emily there, she would have had a heat stroke…lol. I decided they needed to go somewhere polar opposite, somewhere really snowy and cold. While doing research for some of the snowiest places in the U.S., I came across the Wolf Creek Ski Area. When I looked at a map of the area I saw South Fork, Colorado and I knew I found my place. I hope you enjoyed their honeymoon. The final chapter should be up later this week. Please leave a review!!_


	37. Epilogue

**Chapter 37 – Epilogue**

Sam's POV

I sat in the rocking chair, cradling my son carefully in my arms. He seemed so tiny to me although I was told he was large for a one-month-old. He was perfect. He had Emily's crow-black hair and almond shaped eyes. But I saw traces of myself in his lips, nose, and jaw line.

He was incredible, my Nathaniel Harrison Uley. Finding out that Emily was pregnant one month after our honeymoon had been surprising. As we didn't have room in our house for a baby, we ended up buying a larger home right down the road from our other place. It was a stressful time, but it was exciting too. Luckily, we didn't have any major pack issues or swarms of vampires coming to the area, so I was able to be there for Emily every step of the pregnancy. Not that I would have left her side anyway. When she went into labor I was with her, holding her hand the entire time.

Emily handled her labor with her typical grace. I was the one who had been a mess. When she cried out in pain, I yelled and called the hospital staff idiots. When Emily finally gave birth to our son, I almost passed out. But everything went smooth and at the end, Emily smiled tiredly at me while cradling our baby and said in complete awe, "look at our son." I had bent down and held them both close, feeling like the luckiest person in the world.

Nathaniel burped loudly and I looked down at him. It was about 6 am and I had just changed and fed him. As I really didn't want to put him down yet, I decided to tell him a story instead.

"Nathaniel, I'm going to tell you a very important story. It's about the first imprint of the new Quileute wolves. There was once a man named Sam. Sam was very surprised to learn that he had magic in his blood. This magic turned him into a wolf whenever he lost his temper which happened a lot…son, if you ever develop my temper I'm going to have teach you how to control it. But seeing as both your grandmothers' have claimed you're the calmest baby they've ever met, I hope that you've inherited your mother's temperament instead," I whispered to him before continuing with my story.

"Anyway, one day, the wolf met a beautiful princess named Emily and he fell in love with her immediately. At first the princess didn't want anything to do with the wolf. But the wolf was very handsome and charming and he eventually wore her down," I told my son who was staring at me with rapt attention. I heard Emily snort in the hallway right before she entered the room. She leaned against the door frame, crossing her arms over her chest, before raising one eyebrow. I chuckled softly.

"Then the wolf went off and fought many battles and the princess heard tales of how brave he was. The princess thought he was amazing. She also thought he was great in bed."

"Don't tell him that," Emily gasped.

I laughed before continuing. "And the princess realized how much she loved the wolf and agreed to marry him. They had a beautiful wedding right on top of the cliffs and they even invited Jacob Black, who's a pain in the butt, but Sam knew how much it would mean to the princess to invite everyone she cared about."

"Real nice story Sam." Emily rolled her eyes, before walking over and kneeling down in front of us. She leaned over and kissed Nathaniel on the head. Nathaniel cooed in response before turning to look at me expectantly. I smiled in return, running my finger against his soft cheek.

"And someone at the wedding asked Sam about imprinting and asked him if he had a choice." I looked at Emily and leaned down to kiss her gently on the lips.

"And what did Sam say?" Emily whispered, pulling back slightly, love shining in her eyes.

"I told the person, no, I had a gift."

**The End**

_A/N – I hope you enjoyed the story. I originally planned on ending the story with the wedding day, but then again I also had only planned on the story being 12 chapters long and never planned on writing Sam's POV for Eclipse or Breaking Dawn. But when reviews came in asking about the Newborn War, I decided to write everything. _

_One of the very first people to respond to my story, Mediate89, asked me if we would see Emily and Sam as parents. Then a couple other readers asked for it as well, so I decided to add this ending. Its pure fluff, but I really like how it turned out. I hope this gives you an idea of the fun, loving parents I can imagine Sam and Emily will be. _

_Thank you again to everyone who supported me and this story. It was my first attempt at writing fan fiction and I really appreciated all the wonderful feedback I received. _

_I have an idea for a spin-off and I already wrote the first chapter. Some people asked me if I could write a Claire/Quil fan fic. I wasn't going to at first because there are a lot of quality Quil/Claire fics already. But I really love the version of Quil and Claire that I created in First Imprint. So I'm going to give you an excerpt of what I wrote. This story will be a direct spin-off to "First Imprint." You'll get to watch Claire grow up and you will also still see quite a bit of Sam and Emily. As this is a spin-off, the opening chapter is from "First Imprint's" "So That Happened" chapter. Here's the preview:_

**Early Imprint (Quil's Story) – Excerpt**

Quil's POV

When I woke up that day, I never expected anything out of the ordinary to happen. I thought it would be just your average day of turning into a wolf to hunt some vampires. You know, your typical day at the office.

I had just joined the pack a month before. The weeks leading up to that life changing moment had been dismal as my two best friends suddenly dropped me and wouldn't have anything to do with me. It wasn't until I became a wolf myself that I realized that Jacob and Embry had actually been trying to protect me by staying away.

We were meeting at our Alpha leader Sam's house for lunch before patrolling. A bloodsucker had been hunting in the area and we were having trouble getting her. We had nicknamed her the elusive vampire.

Jacob, Embry, and I had walked into Sam's house to find Emily in the kitchen preparing lunch. We offered to help, but she preferred people to stay out of her way when she was cooking and told us the only thing she wanted was some help carrying the food into the living room. Embry offered to help with that chore, which was fine by me.

As soon as I had gotten onto the property, I had felt an anxious urge to get into the living room of the home. It was kind of baffling really, because it was just another meeting before hunting for the leech. No reason to have this strange pulling feeling. I felt as though it had become essential to my life to get into that room.

"Jacob, Quil, these are my nieces, Cora and Claire," I heard Sam say as we walked into the living room.

I saw a little girl sitting on Leah's lap and I smiled in her direction as she half-heartedly waved back. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw a little figure move from behind Sam's legs where she had been hiding and saw her walk in my direction.

A girl of no more than two-years-old walked to the middle of the living room and looked at me with her hand raised for me to shake it. She had light brown hair that reached her shoulders and a smile that showed she still had some teeth that hadn't grown in yet. But it was when I looked into her dark brown eyes that everything changed.

_A/N –That's just a part of the first chapter. "Early Imprint" is now posted. I hope you get a chance to check it out._

_Thanks again for all your support with Sam's Story. Even though this story is now complete, I still love getting feedback for it. Please leave a review!_


	38. Author's Note

Author's Note

Thank you again to everyone who read "First Imprint (Sam's Story)." This story is now complete. I have now posted the first chapter of "Early Imprint (Quil's Story)." I hope you enjoy it!


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